To See A Thestral
by Sadie Lovegood
Summary: AU Post DH. Andromeda's happiness is long gone, and Tonks wants her heart to be young and whole again. A mother and daughter, widowed by the same war, would go to the ends of the earth to see their husbands again...and it looks like they might have to...
1. Her Story Begins

**"To See ****A ****Thestral****"**

_**A/N:** I am hereby putting "Mud is Thicker Than Water" on hiatus for the time being…might pick it up when I feel I have another idea for it. Until then, I bring you this one! It's an AU post-Deathly Hallows, centering on Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks (Tonks, in this AU, survives the Battle of Hogwarts, but Remus does not). __I'm hoping this story can be a longer one like my 'Sisters Black" story. Hope you like!_

_**SUMMARY:** A mother and daughter, both widowed by the Second War, would go to great lengths to see their husbands one last time. When this opportunity is given to them, will they take it? Can they learn to open their hearts again? And what will they find on their journey to the Borderland, where those on both sides of the veil can reunite? _

_**Rating- T-16 for tragedy, angst, swearing, and possible future sexuality.**_

* * *

Usually, the beginning of an adventure story happens one of two ways: the first way has the world totally at peace before something disrupts it. The other beginning has something terribly wrong happen right off the bat. Sadly, for Nymphadora Tonks' story, it had to be the latter. And it certainly was a terrible beginning. The least she could have asked for was a little soothing peace before having the universe turn against her.

Fighting courageously in the depths of Hogwarts' School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, Tonks, alongside her husband of just under a year, Remus Lupin, were experiencing a lull in the fighting. Where had Dolohov gotten to? Remus had been having a terrible time trying to duel this monster Death Eater, and Tonks, luckily, had found him (although she wasn't even supposed to be at the Battle at all), and managed to fight him off, from the looks of it. After a joint round of _'stupefy!'_ Remus and Tonks stood back to back, wands at the ready. Tonks' hair was currently a bright red, seemingly fitting her warrior-mood quite perfectly.

"Where'd he go? His body isn't where we left it!" Tonks whispered. She felt Remus grab her free hand with his and squeeze it out iof fear.

"He's Disapparated , and he'll Apparate back and try to take us by surprise," Remus warned. "He did this in the Department of Mysteries, too. It's his favorite method of dueling," he informed his battle partner.

"Should we Disapparate too?" asked Tonks. She felt Remus' hand grip tighter on hers (luckily her left hand was her wand hand), and she even felt Remus fiddling with his wedding ring on his own hand…seemingly loosening it.

"No…" Remus answered. "All we do is wait."

With some rather skillful work with his one hand, Remus managed to take off his wedding ring and slip it over Tonks' ring finger, so both rings sat one on top of the other on her finger.

"Remus, what are you doing?" Tonks asked, a bit of nervousness trembling in her voice.

"Safe keeping," Remus answered.

"No," Tonks said back, barking rather loudly (more than she wanted to). "No, no need." She tried to shake the ring off, but, unlike Remus, she wasn't as skilled with her free hand as he. "We're going to make it out of this alive, both of us. And Little Teddy will be waiting for us…"

"Just in case," Remus assured. "You never know when and where he might land, and what curse he'll deal first. But he wants me, Tonks. He won't try and hurt you first."

Tonks bit her lip to keep it from shaking even more. Remus felt his own grip tighten as Tonks constricted her fingers so they were stiff as stone.

"He won't hurt you either," Tonks said back. "I'll make sure of it!" Tonks tried to have a little courage for her mate. His hand was cold against hers.

"I trust you with my life," Remus said back, not an ounce of fear coming from his throat.

"A…are you afraid?" Tonks asked.

"Yes. Very much. Afraid for you, and your mother, and Teddy. You need to be the one to get back to them safely when I…"

"I meant…are you afraid for yourself?" Tonks said. She wanted to stop Remus before he started writing down his will. Was he this sure that Dolohov was going to get him?

"No. With you here with me, I'm not afraid at all. Like I said, I trust you, Dora."

Tonks felt her heart speed him, as it always did when Remus spoke sweetly to her. But he was still talking like he was lying on his deathbed, and Tonks hated it.

"If you die, I swear to Merlin I refuse to love again," Tonks whispered. Remus grunted.

"Please don't talk that way. You're only making it worse—"

Suddenly, a loud echoed through the empty room, and Tonks nearly jumped 10 feet in the air when she saw Dolohov materialize right in front of her. Tonks practically screamed her first curse.

_"STUPEFY!"_

_"PROTEGO!"_

Dolohov, with his sinister smile and long face, managed to easily block the curse, and the shield, so strong and powerful, actually reflected the curse back on its' caster., taking her completely by surprise. Tonks felt her body fly sideways. She landed behind a stone column. Though unconscious, she could still heard what was going on…at least for a moment...

"NYMPHADORA!" shrieked Remus, sounding terrified. "Dolohov, your battle is with me and me alone!"

"As you wish, werewolf!" said the deep, dull voice belonging to Remus' opponent. The cracks and bangs of curses flying around the room followed immediately after.

That was when Tonks lost her hearing, and fell completely numb to the world around her, thanks to the curse.

* * *

In her hazy consciousness, now thankfully returning, Tonks began to feel like a body again. Though she was completely at a loss for time. She turned her head, still too weak to pick herself up. It was still black dark out the window…it was still night. The next thing that struck Tonks was the fact that her ears felt hollow. No more curses. Was the Battle over? Or was it stalemated? What was going on.

Tonks felt warmth begin to cascade over her body, and with it came the strength she needed to get to her feet again. Remus needed her if the Battle was still occurring. She slowly got to her feet and felt her wand still in her hand. A little dazed, the first few steps she took was as unbalanced as if the floor of the room was on an angle. Once her balance came back, she looked around. The room was deserted and empty. The fact that there were no bodies on the floor was a good sign. Tonks cautiously crept out of the room and up the stairs that led out of the basement. The first person she saw was Neville Longbottom, awkwardly carrying the deceased body of a small House-Elf.

"Neville!" Tonks called. Neville seemed a little shocked by her presence before looking down at his feet as he walked. Tonks scampered as fast as she could with a still-fairly-weak body to catch up to the lad. "Why is the fighting over?"

"It's not," said Neville. "He's given us an hour to surrender Harry," he informed.

"I hope he hasn't turned himself in," Tonks said. Neville shook his head.

"I think he has. I last saw him headed for the forest. He said he wasn't surrendering himself, but I think he's going to try and duke it out with…with HIM…once and for all, one-on-one. He told me about Nagini and how she's got to go too, but I think she's with her master in the forest, waiting for Harry."

"Oh goodness," Tonks muttered, delicately touching the small body of the fallen House-Elf Neville was carrying. She walked along the corridor with Neville towards the Great Hall. "Listen, Neville, I was knocked out downstairs during all of this, damn Dolohov…" Tonks rubbed her temple. Her head was beginning to pound lightly, as if her brain had a pulse of its' own. "…and I was wondering, have you seen Remus?"

Neville didn't answer her. "Neville? Remus?" Tonks asked again.

Neville looked down at his feet and blinked. "He's…he's in the Great Hall," was all Neville said. Tonks sighed with relief and, finding newfound strength within her, leapt forward and dashed excitedly towards the Great Hall. Her Remus was there, waiting for her!

Turning this way and that, Tonks hurled herself into the Great Hall, much to the surprise of Molly Weasley, who was with her daughter Ginny, cleaning a wound Ginny had received to her left cheek. Molly's own cheeks were somewhat tearstained.

"Tonks!" Ginny said, a rather sad tone to her voice. Tonks ran up to the two women, smiling like a buffoon.

"I was told Remus was waiting for me in here!" Tonks said. Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a mass of dead bodies, lying in perfect rows around the edge of the Hall. Molly, Tonks, and Ginny were standing right over the body of their own family member, Fred, who almost looked like he'd died laughing. He'd not been killed by a curse. His body was too torn up for it. Perhaps something had fallen on him?

"Fred! Oh no!!" she said, out of surprise. Now she REALLY wanted to find her husband…

Molly looked awkwardly at Tonks, whose expression had changed direly. "Tonks? You…you haven't heard…?"

Tonks went completely white, surveying the bodies, who were all faceless. She somehow knew now.

"He's…he's among THEM, isn't he?" Tonks said, a new kind of shakiness hit her voice. She lifted her wand and used it to point at the bodies on the floor. She looked up to Molly and Ginny. Molly nodded her head and bit her lip, holding back more tears.

"He died nobly, Tonks," Molly informed. "You were knocked out, and Dolohov was going to kill you while you were already immobile, and Remus stepped in between you and the curse. Dolohov didn't bother to do away with you after that."

Tonks felt her headache get worse and her body burst into flames as if she'd gotten a fever. Ginny noted that her hair had gone from fiery red to nearly black, completely skipping over the mousy brown it usually got when she was sad, and it grew out several inches, nearly hitting her shoulder.

Molly continued, her struggle against her tears getting harder and harder to control. "He died for you, Tonks. He's just over here," Molly said, stepping aside. Only a few bodies down from Fred, lied Remus, his face relaxed and serene, his eyes closed lightly. His body wasn't scarred any worse than it was when he and Tonks were standing back-to-back while dueling Dolohov.

Tonks didn't cry. Her face was blank. Her hair grew out a little more, so it went well past her shoulder blades. Her lip didn't shake anymore. She calmly walked past the two Weasley women until she got to the body of her husband. Ginny remarked how Tonks' hair never stopped growing. The dark and messy hair made Tonks look every inch the part of widow.

Tonks lightly kicked the sole of Remus' shoe. Remus moved slightly, but not of his own will. Tonks, still blank-faced kneeled down beside him, and then she moved to a lying position, moving Remus' body so that his arm went around her shoulder. She took his other hand in hers and laid her head on his immobile chest. Molly wanted to burst out crying, but held back, for the sake of her daughter, who'd just lost a brother herself and wasn't doing too well.

Tonks snuggled close to Remus' corpse and closed her eyes, a single tear running down the side of her face. "Remus, it's almost time to wake up, so don't stay asleep too long…" she finally muttered.

Molly bit her lip and leaned down to Ginny. "If you can, send an owl to her mother and tell her to bring her grandson with her, quickly!"

Ginny took one look at Fred, and another at Tonks, who was nestled in her dead mate's arm still, her hair growing ever longer, and ran out of the Hall.

By the time Ginny got back, Tonks' hair was down past her feet.


	2. Widows of the Second War

Tonks had fallen asleep beside Remus' inert body, it looked like she too was dead after awhile. Harry Potter assumed so, actually, considering he'd not been there when she entered the room alive and lay down beside her true love. But indeed, she only slept. While she was sleeping, the Death Eaters had been defeated, Voldemort had been killed, and the entire wizarding world was celebrating a bittersweet morning with as much happiness as possible, despite the over fifty deaths that had taken place. The festivities had been moved out of the Great Hall and outside, where a grand summer's dawn was slowly rolling over the grounds. The Great Hall was much quieter, as families of victims and other war veterans moved through the Hall, honoring and saying goodbye to the dead. All assumed that Tonks was dead beside her husband. She refused to wake.

The Weasleys (aside from Ron, Ginny, Bill, and Charlie who were outside celebrating) sat by Fred's body, mourning over it, particularly his twin, George. Percy looked up briefly to see a new figure walking among the bodies. Curiously, Percy noted that this was a hooded woman in a black cape. Her face was completely concealed. She walked with a slight forward lean, and she carried a bundle in her arms. Percy tapped his mother on the shoulder, and Molly looked up and sighed.

"Andromeda Tonks," she muttered to her son. "She's here for Dora's sake."

"How long has she been asleep?" asked Percy.

"Hours. She doesn't even know we won," Arthur answered. "Poor little thing."

Meanwhile, the hooded woman continued to wander in and out of the people. Everyone seemed to know who she was, and many people stepped aside for her. It had only been a few hours since Voldemort's defeat, and already people whispered about Andromeda, calling her "The Widow of The Second War." Indeed, Andromeda's own husband, and Tonks' father, Ted, had been killed a while earlier, before his grandson, whom Andromeda now held in her arms, was even born. Having also lost her favorite cousin, son-in-law, and (rumors were), daughter, Andromeda had suffered more personal loss than anyone else. However, Ginny was smart enough to mention in the letter that Tonks lived.

Andromeda, her face still hidden from the world, found Remus and Tonks's space and knelt down on Remus' side. She unwrapped the bundle she carried to reveal baby Teddy, his hair a bright cotton-candy blue. She took out a small, tear-stained piece of parchment with Ginny's handwriting on it and read it.

_Mrs. Tonks,_

_Dora lives. Lupin has died. When it is safe, bring Teddy to Hogwarts. _

_G. __Weasley_

She folded the parchment and put it away. She reached over and lightly touched Tonks' face. As white as it was, it was still warm. Andromeda looked down at her precious grandson. She took the baby and leaned his tender cheek against Remus' rough, scarred, but cold cheek.

"This was your Daddy, Teddy," Andromeda muttered, her voice barely audible. Teddy's hair turned mousy brown, as if he knew. Andromeda wouldn't have doubted if he did know who he was saying goodbye too.

She picked the baby up again after giving her infant ward a moment. His hair did not change back to blue. Instead, Teddy started crying. Andromeda, for the first time, lowered her hood and exposed herself. Her dark, thick hair (not unlike her older sister Bellatrix') was matted and mussed from the long journey from her cottage (she had chosen to go by thestral, as it would have been hard to steer a broom with a baby in one arm). Her eyes were puffy and red, but not lined with tears. She wore a golden charm on a chain that resembled a pentacle. Her skin was red and blotchy, to match her sad red eyes.

She stood erect again and walked around Remus to her own daughter, in a deep sleep, her head leaning on Remus' shoulder. Teddy cried and winced, writhing in his grandmother's arm. Andromeda sighed and fingered a section of Tonks' dark brown hair (as dark as her own), that was straight and sad, wrapped around Tonks almost like a blanket. She caressed Teddy's eyebrow with the hair. Teddy almost automatically calmed down. Andromeda sighed woefully for a second time, and took two of her fingers and gently touched Tonks' cheek with them. She then took her daughter's arm and posed it so Teddy would fit snugly in the crook of her arm, formed by her elbow. This sudden involuntary movement is what made Tonks stir for the first time in hours. But she didn't come to consciousness quickly.

A Healer woman dressed in white stopped by Andromeda's feet. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

Andromeda didn't look up. Instead, she answered with her deep, emotionless voice. "No, thank you."

"Good Merlin, she's alive!" the Healer proclaimed as Tonks moved. "I was certain she was—"

"—sleeping," Andromeda said sternly, finally looking the old woman in the eyes and jerking her head, telling the woman to move elsewhere in the room…PLEASE. The Healer nodded an apology and immediately obeyed.

Andromeda turned back to Tonks, who was slowly re-establishing the world around her. She looked at her baby in her arm and smiled. Her hair grew to be a lighter brown and shrunk about 6 inches.

"Teddy," she murmured. She then looked over at Remus and smiled. Her hair grew lighter still and shrunk more. Andromeda's expression didn't change.

"Remus, you still sleeping? Come on, Teddy needs a bath, we have to get home! I KNOW it was a hard battle, but—"

"—Nymphadora, don't play this game. It doesn't help being in denial," said Andromeda coldly. Tonks turned to her mother and groaned.

"Mum, how many times MUST I tell you? DON'T call me by my first name!"

"I am you damn mother and I will call you Garbage Truck if I want to!" Andromeda snapped. George, who was still leaning over his twin, looked up, startled. Andromeda didn't apologize.

"Go to hell!" barked Tonks.

"See you there!" retorted Andromeda.

Teddy began crying. Tonks, suddenly feeling very small, looked her child in the face, then looked back at Remus, still lying beside her.

"Oh….oh Merlin…" Tonks muttered, tears coming to her eyes for the first time. "Mummy…he's gone, isn't he? My Remus…he's…he's…"

Andromeda leaned over and took Tonks in her grip, embracing her and her grandson tightly. Tonks, for the first time, let it all out in one huge sob. Andromeda kept quiet, but she didn't shush her daughter. After all, it had been months since the same thing happened to herself, and she still felt like wailing. But she wanted to hold back for Tonks and Teddy's sake.

Tonks tried to talk from behind her heavy, breathless sobs, but Andromeda couldn't understand a word. Tonks could have been speaking Japanese.

Molly Weasley jumped over and, in turn, embraced Andromeda.

"Come back to Grimmauld Place with us," Molly whispered in Andromeda's ear. "I don't think you three should be alone just now. Arthur is taking Ginny and George in the car in an hour," she suggested.

Andromeda looked up at Molly and gave a half-hearted smile. "Thank you, Molly. That's a good idea."

Molly nodded and bit her lip again. _Before the day is over, everyone will have eaten their bottom lip, _Andromeda thought.

* * *

Andromeda and Tonks managed to arrange for Remus' remains to be taken to Grimmauld place after the memorial service (neither women decided to attend, for Tonks still wasn't emotionally stable in the least) and from there, Andromeda decided to have Remus buried next to Ted. It was only a suitable place.

Tonks, now wearing Andromeda' large black cloak with the hood down (it looked like a huge afghan draped over her shoulders), carried Teddy, and walked side-by-side with her mother towards the Entrance Hall, where Arthur Weasley would be bringing his new flying Cadillac. As the women walked by, many people gasped and stared, for many still thought Tonks had died alongside Remus.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, she survived, now go talk about something else!" Andromeda kept shouting as she caught more and more people staring and whispering. She was like her daughter's bodyguard now, keeping her sensitive self safe from the outside.

Before walking outside (it was almost 10 AM now), Tonks happened to bump into Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Ron's arm around Hermione's shoulder. All three looked equally surprised to see her. But unlike the adults, none of them said a word. Ron stepped forward, held out a hand, and used it to caress Teddy's face. Tonks looked at Ron and took him in a forceful embrace that surprised both of them. Once she let go, Ron retreated and looked worriedly at Hermione. Harry looked at Andromeda and then at his feet.

"I'm sorry."

"We know you were close to him too, and many of the others as well," said Andromeda. "Don't worry about us. You've been through a lot and deserve to not worry about anyone but yourself for once."

Harry nodded solemnly and quickly moved on with his two friends in tow.

Andromeda turned to Tonks, who looked down at her son, who seemed to begin to fall asleep in her arms.

"He may be able to change his hair like you, and he's got your eyes," Andromeda began. "But there's no doubt he's got his father's mouth and chin."

"That's not going to be enough," Tonks whispered. "I'd kill, just KILL to—"

"—sh, let's not talk about this now, okay? It's incredibly too soon," Andromeda said back. Tonks nodded and looked from Teddy to the sky above her. It was beginning to cloud over. No doubt it would rain before they reached London. "How where the bloody hell is Arthur? If it rains…"

"Mummy?" asked Tonks, her voice still quiet.

"Yes, Nymphadora?"

Tonks didn't even cringe at the name this time. "Will you sleep with me tonight?"

"Beg pardon?"

"I don't want to be in bed alone tonight. It'll feel…well, it'll feel too big." Tonks looked her mother in the eye for the first time that morning.

"But what about every month when he went off to the Shack to transform? You never went with him—"

"—but I never slept those nights. I always sat downstairs sucking down coffees at the kitchen table, staring at the clock on the wall until he came home in the morning. That way I'd always be right there to nurse back to…to…to…"

"Again with the talking, Nymphadora! I think it'd be best if we just stayed silent until we got to Grimmauld Place."

"It won't be weird for you..going there after all that happened with your family?"

"I want to go there," Andromeda answered. "I actually have someone waiting for me there that I want to talk to, and I think we both need to speak to him."

"Who?"

"You'll see. Now, come on, here comes Arthur," Andromeda said, watching Arthur pull up with his new flying car, a rusty-brown Cadillac. George climbed in without any strength and sat next to his father in the front. Ginny climbed into the back, and Andromeda sat beside her. Tonks climbed in with her baby last and shut the door. Arthur started the car and took off into the sky.

For the whole ride, the car was as silent as a hearse. And appropriately so.


	3. The Hall of Blacks

The car 'landed' within a few hours right outside London, and then George had to help his father drive the car into the city and to Grimmauld Place. By the time the car was safely parked outside, it was raining in sheets. Tonks put Andromeda's hood over her head and used some of the excess fabric to shelter little Teddy from the cold rain (it may have been late spring, but this certainly wasn't a late spring shower). Andromeda allowed herself to become wet. Arthur took Ginny by the hand and Apparated to the front stoop of Number 12 (since Moody's death, it was the only way to get in). George followed. Andromeda looked at Tonks.

"It wouldn't do to stand out here and get sick," she said, motioning for Tonks to go first. Tonks looked over her shoulder and quickly Apparated to the stoop, and then she opened the door and went inside the musky old house.

She waited for the voice to ask "Severus Snape?" as was the trap set by Moody, but it did not come. Arthur must have de-activated the charm. Tonks moved forward, keeping her eyes on her baby. She heard a crack from behind her, and Andromeda materialized. She was soaked to the bone. Tonks made no move to try and dry her off.

Suddenly, a familiar shrill voice rang out. Tonks winced. She hadn't even had the chance to trip over the umbrella stand yet.

"ANDROMEDA TONKS!! HOW DARE YOU BRING THOSE MUTANT HALF-BLOOD FREAKS INTO MY HOUSE?! YOU BLOOD TRAITOR!! TAINTING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS, YOU BI—"

"Oh, go to hell, Aunt Walburga," Andromeda moaned.

"How DARE you speak to me that way?! BLOOD TRAITORS!! REFUSE! GARBAGE-COATED FREAKS!!"

Andromeda quickly drew the curtain to calm the portrait of Walburga Black down, and it took a moment, but it worked. "She needs to come up with new material," she muttered to herself.

* * *

The first three days at Grimmauld Place were utterly silent. None of the Weasleys spoke, and neither did the Tonks women. Arthur took Ginny up to Hogwarts several times to see Harry and join in some of the happier festivities, which were still occuring, but George, who still felt alone without his twin brother, stayed with the Tonks women at Grimmauld Place for the entire time. Tonks refused to leave her bed for the first two days, but on the third day after arriving, she ended up getting up and wandering into the kitchen downstairs.

The room held so many memories for Tonks. Although the room was dusty from lack of use, there were still traces of the last Order meeting scattered about. Hard to believe how long ago it was…there was an old issue of the Daily Prophet with some headline about Dumbledore's death dated in early July of last year. Remus was the one who'd last touched it before the meeting was adjourned. A few dirty plates, the leftover food on them turning grey and fuzzy, still sat at the end of the table, where Fred and George usually sat (they were never good about picking up). A book Hermione had been reading at the dinner table still lay open face-down on the table. It was actually gift for her seventeenth birthday from Arthur and Molly. Hermione never finished it.

Tonks looked over on the other end of the room, where a small fireplace and mantel sat. The mantel, which used to have pictures of all the 'good' Black family members sitting on it, were replaced immediately by Molly with pictures relevant to the Order of the Phoenix in some way. The first photo was a picture of the original Order. Remus was in the picture, of course, along with Sirius and many others. Tonks was not, as she was still too young to be an original member. The second one had the new Order. This was taken just after Tonks was inducted, and she stood right next to her beaming cousin Sirius. The difference between Sirius in both photographs was amazing. Sirius had aged so much in the decade-and-more between the photos. Remus looked different too. For one thing, the second photo had his hair shorter, and he was clearly thinner and scarred, and looked more weary. In the photo with her, Tonks looked young and full of life.

The third photo was Molly and Arthur's wedding picture. Again, Tonks was absent.

The fourth photo had the three Order members who doubled as Aurors: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye Moody, and Tonks, sitting by the fountain at the Ministry of Magic. A casual photo, Tonks could clearly remember the day this was taken. She thought now of Moody, who'd died this past year as well. She had been Moody's protégé, and very close to him.

The fifth photo was of James and Lily Potter, Sirius, Remus, and Peter Pettigrew (the jackass), all Order members, sitting at a fountain in Muggle territory and smiling, all five of them. Lily's stomach was slightly swollen…was she pregnant with Harry then, perhaps?

The sixth photo was Sirius, newly escaped from prison, Remus, and Arthur Weasley. Again, Sirius looked older and worn down.

The last photo (Molly must have put it up more recently) was of Tonks and Remus' wedding. Tonks' maid of honor was Hestia Jones, and she stood to Tonks' left, and Kingsley had been Remus' best man, and he stood on Remus' right. Moody had acted as Justice of the Peace and married them. Remus smiled, and Tonks looked about as happy as a clam.

Tonks had to turn away from this photo and retreat to the other side of the room. Andromeda had just come in, and Tonks quickly shoved her son into her mother's arm so she could fall into the corner and have another outburst. She sank against the wall and buried her face in her lap. Andromeda didn't lean down to comfort her, but instead took Teddy upstairs, where Arthur said he would set up a crib for the baby. Tonks just sat in the corner and cried.

After a moment, she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. Tonks looked up through her tear-drowned eyes to see George there, comforting her. He didn't say a word, but instead took Tonks in his arm and tightly hugged her. Tonks realized he needed this just as much as she did, and she didn't let go of him. She soon felt another set of arms embrace her. These arms were of Ginny.

The three of them sat on the floor in that small corner, hugging and crying, for two full hours, listening to the relentless rain pound against the window outside. Not one word was spoken the entire time.

* * *

"Nymphadora? George? Ginny?"

Andromeda's voice was what woke the threesome, who had literally cried themselves to sleep right in that corner of the kitchen. Ginny's head was in Tonks' lap, Tonks was sitting up against the wall, and George was sprawled out at Tonks' feet, curled up in a loose version of a fetal position. Tonks looked out the window. The rain was relentless, but as it was coming on nightfall, it was getting harder to see.

The three woke up and immediately scrambled to their feet. Andromeda turned to the two redheads.

"Your father wants to see you upstairs," she instructed. The siblings left the room. She then turned to her daughter. "Follow me."

Tonks obeyed as Andromeda guided her down the corridor…and began taking her through some unfamiliar twists and turns.

"Mum, where's Teddy?"

"Arthur put him to sleep, he's still napping," answered Andromeda.

"Where are we going?"

Andromeda stopped in a large, musky-smelling bedroom. "This was—"

"—Aunt Walburga's room," Tonks finished, looking around. "Why are we here? No one at Order meetings ever came in here."

"You'll see," Andromeda, said, almost with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She went to the armoire door and opened it. She shoved aside some old-fashioned robes and revealed a small, narrow stairwell. Tonks gasped.

"Why….where does that…what does that…how come…" was all she could utter. Andromeda seemed to know what she was trying to ask.

"No one in the Order knew about this place…well, save for one," Andromeda answered. _"__Lumos__,"_ she whispered, taking out her oak wood wand. The wand lit up, and Tonks began following Andromeda down the staircase.

"Dumbledore?" asked Tonks.

"Of course not. This is the Black Family Home, so—"

"—Sirius knew about this place," Tonks replied. Andromeda nodded. "What about Remus? Or Molly?"

"No Order member but Sirius knew about this place, you understand?"

"Why? Why are you taking me down here?"

"We need to have a chat with someone."

Tonks didn't ask any more questions. Her voice was so strained from her mass sobs and cries, she didn't want to screw it up even more.

Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, Andromeda led her daughter into a small room with portraits hanging on all four walls. All of them were of Blacks. Deceased Blacks. Even the disowned Blacks had their pictures on this wall. Tonks shuddered as one particular picture caught her eye.

Bellatrix was sleeping in her portrait. Wait…how could she have a picture down here after only one day of being dead?

"How…how come Bellatrix is…it's only been…?"

"It's a family secret," Andromeda answered. "It's a mystery. But every time a blood Black dies, their portrait is immediately hung here. The door will be locked until it is up. Even the disowned Blacks are here, because blood is even thicker than Aunt Walburga's head. Nymphadora, welcome to the Hall of Blacks."

Tonks gaped at the walls of her deceased ancestors. Many looked at her strangely, a few smiled pleasantly at her and nodded there heads, and a few were snoozing away as if no one was there. It occurred to her that she was half Black herself. It made a cold shudder fall down her spine. It was odd. Tonks never considered herself to be a Black. Yet, disowned or not, these men and women were her ancestors, and some of those portraits looked like they'd been there for centuries.

Andromeda continued. "When I die, my portrait will hang here. Even though you're only half Black, your portrait will hang here too, because you still have the blood in your veins. Teddy's picture will too, and so will any children he has one day. And, I much as I wish it weren't so, Draco Malfoy and his children as well."

Tonks felt her skin freeze as one particular name immediately came to mind. "So…Sirius' portrait is—"

"—right here," Andromeda finished, pointing to a medium-sized portrait of Sirius Black from the chest up. He seemed to be reading a book. Andromeda cleared her voice, and Sirius looked up, smiling.

"What took you so long?"

"You know very well what we're going through," Andromeda said. Tonks looked almost horrified.

"Tonks, how are you feeling?" asked Sirius. Tonks, going white as a ghost in the face, shook her head. Hearing his voice was almost surreal. It made her eardrums throb…or maybe that was something else…what should she SAY?

"Terrible."

Sirius nodded, understandingly. "I figured as much. But if it's any consolation to you, Remus is doing just fine, Tonks. He's chatted with me and James all day about you and Teddy as if you two were the Queen and King of the Universe. He's doing well. Be happy with that at least," Sirius said. Tonks was unresponsive. She was still drinking in the sound of her dear cousin's voice.

"And Ted? Is here there?" asked Andromeda. Tonks looked up hearing her mother mention her father.

"Ted talks about you so much, and about the years I missed watching you grow up, Tonks. Sometimes we can't get him to shut up, really," Sirius said, smiling. Andromeda smiled, but Tonks didn't.

"That's exactly what Ted would do. Has he told you about the time he got us lost on a hike and Nymphadora found the way home?"

"Oh yes!" Sirius said, grinning. "It was a scream!"

As Andromeda and Sirius carried on a conversation like two old buddies, Tonks felt the need to interrupt, or else she felt she was going to explode. "Mum, you really think I'm in the mood for this? You really think I can handle this right now?" Tonks began shaking again.

"Nymphadora, you're acting like a—"

"—Mum, just let me BE! I don't want nor need any of this group therapy damnation! Leave me ALONE!" Tonks shrieked, turning to run back up the staircase, tears flooding her eyes again. Sirius suddenly called out.

"What if I could tell you I know where you can find Remus?" he called. Tonks stopped dead on the first stair, and turned slowly around.

"Remus is dead," Tonks said with a low voice.

Sirius nodded his head. "Yes, but that really doesn't matter, does it? After all, it didn't stop me…"


	4. Tonks' First Thestral

_Okay, the lack of reviews/enthusiasm about this fic pisses me off...and i will say no more._

* * *

Tonks was confused by what Sirius' portrait had just said. It was like he had spoken another language entirely. "So…there's a picture of Remus in here?"

Sirius shook his head. "I wish."

Tonks frowned and groaned. "I really hope you're not playing head games with me, Sirius. I'm really not up to it."

Sirius rolled his eyes and looked briefly at Andromeda. "Tonks, I may be a bit clownish, but I'm no idiot. I know what you're enduring. I lost my own love, many years ago. Andromeda might know her…she was killed when I confronted Wormtail sixteen years ago…"

"Bastet Pollux!" recalled Andromeda. "How could I forget? She was such a loudmouth…you two were suited perfectly."

"Yes. And by the way, she says hello to you. She and I are quite satisfied over here. It's certainly great to have her again." Sirius looked at Tonks again.

"While you two go tripping down Memory Lane, may I PLEASE go upstairs to wallow in sadness some more?" Tonks asked from behind gritted teeth.

"Didn't you hear me, Tonks?"

Tonks nodded. "The joke you made about me being able to see Remus again? I heard it too well." Tonks looked at her stocking feet. They were cold, even beneath the cloth. She wriggled her toes uncomfortably. Why did her feet hurt so much?

Andromeda looked at Sirius and frowned in a similar manner to her daughter. "Sirius, what are you talking about? I'm afraid I'm a little concerned as well now."

Sirius looked around the room, as if spies were among them, and lowered his voice only slightly. "Tonks, 'Dromeda, how much would you be willing to risk to see Ted and Remus again?"

"My life," Tonks said immediately, without any hesitation or thinking.

"Sirius, what are you saying?" asked Andromeda. "Are you saying they're not dead?"

"They're dead, but that doesn't mean there isn't a way," said Sirius. "There is a place where one can go. But it's in terribly dangerous territory, and the journey can take months, or more. No one knows where it is, so no one can Apparate there."

"But if no one knows where this 'Wonderland' is, then how can one be sure it exists?" asked Tonks, moving closer to the portrait again.

"Because I've been there many times. Bastet and I talk moonlit walks down by the river."

"So it's a river?" Andromeda asked.

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" said the portrait of a female Black just above Sirius. The woman had a hooked nose and thick eyebrows. "Sirius Black, don't you dare make these two women take such a terrible set of risks for something that isn't even worth it!"

"On the contrary, Remus is still worth everything to me," Tonks said to the portrait.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "That's our great, great, great aunt through marriage, Andromeda. I'm sure Druella told you about her while drilling the tree into your head when you were a girl—"

"—I can introduce myself, thank you," said the stubborn woman. "Elladora Black."

"Auntie Elladora," Andromeda said, nodding. She looked back down at Sirius. "Tell me more about this place, Sirius."

Sirius shook his head. "Only if it's alright with Tonks," he said, looking at her. Tonks took a deep breath and nodded silently.

"Go on."

Sirius smiled. "You're brave, just like me. It's called the Borderland. It's a valley in between two of the tallest mountains in the world, in the Himalayas. A river cuts through the middle of the valley. People can step into the river and be neither in the realm of the living or the dead. There, they can meet with lost loved ones. But they just cannot come out on the other side into the realm of the dead. Understand so far?"

"No," said Tonks. "If this place is real, then how come no one knows of this? I'd expect there to be mass pilgrimages to this river all the time."

"She has a good point," said Andromeda.

"Let me explain," said Sirius, quickly brushing his mustache with his right index finger. "Those who are dead can only be seen by living eye at night, when the moon isn't out."

"But there's never a night when there's no moon!" Tonks said.

"There's the new moon," Andromeda said.

"Oh yeah," Tonks muttered. "I forgot."

"When there's even a sliver of moon, the dead are invisible," said Sirius.

"So, you say if we go to this place, I can see my Ted again?" asked Andromeda.

"And my Remus?" asked Tonks.

"Yes," said Sirius. "But unfortunately, Auntie Elladora is quite right. The journey it long and terribly draining, not to mention dangerous."

"I don't care!" Tonks suddenly burst out. "I would die for him still," she said. "How can we find this place? Any signs?"

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda snapped. "If the trip is a dangerous one, I will forbid it. You have a son to look after now!"

"Then I will simply take him with me!" Tonks said back. She then turned back to her cousin's portrait. "What kind of landmarks show the location of this Borderland?"

Sirius looked at Andromeda and sighed. "I've said too much already, 'Dromeda. I might as well finish what I've started. Tonks, the only direction I can give to you is that you go southeast until you reach the southern cliffs of the Mediterrainian Sea, then turn due east past the deserts and such until you find the two tallest mountains in the world. The river lies between them. It will be covered in snow, but the river itself always runs."

"Thank you, Sirius," Tonks said. Andromeda noticed a different look in her daughter's eye. It wasn't completely void of sadness, but this 'news' Sirius had given her had made her eyes regain a bit of the color they had lost…

…and Andromeda knew this only meant trouble.

* * *

"Why not?!" Tonks screamed. She paced Sirius' old room, where she and Andromeda were staying. It was almost midnight now. Andromeda sat on the bed holding Teddy, who was playfully squeezing a toy and shaking it around. Arthur Weasley had brought the women tea before going to sleep himself several hours ago, but it still sat untouched on the nightstand. The rain that had been pouring continuously for the entire time since their arrival had since let up, but it was too dark now for anyone to care whether it was cloudy.

"Nymphadora, the journey is dangerous and exhausting, as Sirius said himself. After all that's happen, we are both drained enough. You are acting completely irrational!"

"I? IRRATIONAL?! Of all people, I would have thought YOU'D be the one to understand where I'm coming from! Mum, our husbands are DEAD! If we don't take this journey, we will never see them again! Doesn't that frighten you?"

Andromeda rocked Teddy back and forth in the lap. He began to doze off. "And if we do take the journey, we could both die ourselves, and then your baby boy, Remus' last gift to you, will be all alone in the world! Doesn't THAT frighten YOU?"

"If I make the trip, Teddy is coming with me," Tonks said. "That's not debatable."

"Like hell," Andromeda said. "I refuse to allow you to make the trip, and that's final!" Tonks scowled and shook her head.

"I am a woman, Mum. I will not allow myself to be grounded like Sirius was. Because if I do, then I will simply waste away like he did. I must tell you now. I will travel and find the Borderland, with or without you. You can't stop me."

Tonks and Andromeda stared down each other for a solid minute. Andromeda noticed that Teddy was asleep in her arm, and broke the eye contact in order to gently put him in the crib Arthur had quickly put together. But before she could lay Teddy down, Tonks thrust something in Andromeda' path of vision.

It was a photo of Andromeda and Ted Tonks, along with Tonks herself as a toddler. The photo was of Andromeda sitting up in bed on Mother's Day. Ted held a tray full of breakfast foods, and Tonks stood next to him, a single daisy in her hand. All three people were grinning, Ted using his free hand to grip his wife's hand. Tonks' hair was a bright, happy pink. Andromeda felt a shocking chill shoot down her spine as she looked at the photo.

"What about Dad? You may say all you want to try and protect me, but don't forget, Daddy's waiting there for you too," Tonks said, her voice considerably calmer. Andromeda didn't reply. The picture mesmerized her. She'd use to pray that the scene in the photo would come true for Remus, Tonks, and Teddy as well. Now that it sunk in that it wouldn't, Andromeda felt a pain in her chest form. Tonks saw the hurt in her mother's face.

"It may be a hard trip. But it will be even harder for Teddy and I to endure it without you riding beside us on your broom," Tonks said. Andromeda looked from Teddy, now deeply sleeping happily in her arm, to her daughter, a sad and pleading look on her face.

Andromeda sighed, defeated. "You know, brooms would be inefficient for such a long journey. We'll take Ted's and my thestrals."

Tonks didn't smile with her lips, but her eyes certainly beamed for the first time in five days. "Mum!" she cried, her eyes welling up with tears. "We're going to see them again! We'll make it, I swear!"

"I don't doubt you," Andromeda said. She laid Teddy down to sleep in the crib. "We'll wake at dawn tomorrow, pack some food, and then we'll Apparate to our house and round up our thestrals," she planned. Andromeda climbed into bed, and Tonks got in beside her. Andromeda quickly put out the light. "Get some sleep, we'll need it."

"Mum?"

"Yes, Nymphadora?"

"I've never seen a thestral before."

Andromeda found this strange. "But, all those times the Order used thestrals to accomplish missions—"

"—I always used my broom, and I never saw the ones they used myself."

"Oh."

* * *

Before dawn the next morning, both women got up to began packing. They had to pack lightly, as Andromeda mentioned that the thestrals they owned were older. Tonks packed a small basket with things for baby Teddy, including a blanket, several washable diapers, some food , a few bottles, and a toy to keep him calm. She then awoke Teddy, bathed him, fed him, and changed him silently.

Meanwhile, Andromeda went downstairs to the kitchen quietly, so as not to wake the Weasleys (Percy and Molly had come home with Arthur when he went to take Ginny over to see Harry and Ron). She packed a rucksack with food for herself and Tonks. She then emptied her purse of all money, and hers and Tonks' Gringotts keys. Once she finished, she put on her black hooded cloak and waited for Tonks to appear with Teddy. She did soon enough, and they quickly Apparated to the house where Tonks had grown up.

Tonks stayed out on the lawn as Andromeda went around to the back of the house to get Ted's thestrals. Looking up at the house where Tonks had been born, raised, married, and had her own child in was a painful, yet pleasurable sight at the same time. The sky around her was still grey, but the rain was gone, and the sky promised a sunny twilight hour this evening. The air was cool and wet, not at all summerish.

"Teddy, this was where Mummy was born, too," Tonks said to Teddy. His hair turned a bright, vibrant orange. Tonks figured that either cotton-candy blue or vivid orange was his 'happy color' as pink was hers. Teddy also seemed to prefer his hair shaggier and a bit longer. Tonks looked at a lock of her own hair. It was still a muddy, mousy brown, but it had grown shorter. Not as short as she liked it, though. Her hair brushed her shoulders. And that was just fine for now. Tonks hair was short only when she was happy. And while the prospect of seeing Remus and her father again was comforting, Tonks had a long way to go before she was happy again.

Tonks turned her head to see if she could get a glimpse of her mother's old garden, when suddenly this…wrinkly, ugly, scary, unnatural FACE appeared before her. Tonks screamed and stepped back, drawing her wand out of her pocket. What the hell WAS it?

"NYMPHADORA! STOP!" Andromeda called, running with a second one of the…the THINGS trotting behind her. They were like…horses that had died and rotted and then suddenly been given life again. Tonks was about to use a spell against this thing when Andromeda yelled again. "LOWER YOUR WAND, NOW!"

Tonks did so, trusting Andromeda. Andromeda ran up to her daughter and used a softer tone of voice.

"Congratulations, Nymphadora. You've just seen your first thestral."


	5. A Wedding Night

**_THIS CHAPTER IS RATED M FOR SEXUAL CONTENT!!! _**

* * *

"NYMPHADORA!! COME IN CLOSER SO I CAN TELL YOU WHERE WE'RE GOING!!!" hollered Andromeda. The two women had been flying high over England for about an hour now. The sun was reaching higher into the sky. The two thestrals, one of each sex, flew gracefully, but of course, clumsy Tonks was still getting used to hers. Because Andromeda anticipated this, she was the one holding Teddy underneath her cloak in a bundle, under a mild sleeping spell so he wouldn't fuss. Andromeda smartly flew at a steady altitude. Tonks constantly took her thestral higher and higher, then suddenly dipped lower, only to climb up again like a rollercoaster. 

"WHAT?!" called Tonks, pulling her thestral beside her mother's. Andromeda' long cloak flew behind her like a bride's train. She wore the hood over her head. "MUM?"

"Nymphadora, you can stop shouting now, I can hear you!" Andromeda said. "See that cluster of buildings on the horizon?" she said, pointing directly ahead of her.

"Yeah?!"

"That's Southampton! Once we fly over Southampton and are over the Channel, we're going to turn east by southeast. We'll follow the water instead of cutting across it for awhile. We should make landfall in Denmark by twilight and we'll land for the night in Copenhagen!"

"WHAT?!" Tonks shouted, accidentally taking her thestral higher again. Andromeda rolled her eyes and sighed.

"JUST FOLLOW ME!" Andromeda shouted. Tonks made an 'ok' sign with her free hand and flew a little higher. Andromeda knew that, while Tonks was still new at this, she was enjoying this new sense of freedom. Andromeda did too, once she rode her first thestral. Of course, that was many years ago, and she could guide her thestral with the utmost ease.

Tonks' brown hair flew behind her elegantly as she looked at the approaching city. Her heart was beating so fast. While she kept a straight, concentrating face, the fact that she was on the way to se Remus again thrilled her beyond all belief. But her mouth felt frozen in a permanent frown on her face. After all, it had only been five days. To smile again after so short a time without her husband would be absolutely ridiculous.

Luckily, the day was perfect for extended flying. The rainstorm that had clouded the entire week thus far was floating further east. The sunlight reflecting off the remaining few clouds caused for the day to look even brighter. The sky wasn't blue, but more of a yellowish, which seemed peculiar, especially from this aerial angle.

"MUM?!" called Tonks, driving her thestral so it was on an equal elevation with her mother again.

"What, child?" asked Andromeda.

"What if the thestrals get tired?!" she half-asked, half-hollered.

"Thestrals are built for extended flight, Nymphadora," answered Andromeda. "Once we land in Copenhagen, we'll give them some meat and water, and they'll be fine after a good night's rest, just like us…"

"BUT WHAT IF I HAVE TO PEE?!" shouted Tonks, flying slightly lower now..

"NOT POSSIBLE, YOU GOT YOUR FATHER'S BLADDER! HE COULD FLY FOR ALMOST A DAY BEFORE NEEDING A TOILET!!!" Andromeda said.

Tonks almost laughed at this. She looked ahead of her at the approaching port, then down at her left hand, the hand with the two wedding rings on it, Remus on top of Tonks'. Tonks chuckled deep in her throat as she thought that in the bedroom, it was usually the other way around.

She found herself losing her mind to the memory of her wedding night at the thought of this…

_

* * *

_

_Having sneaken away from the wedding party, Tonks had taken Remus' hand in hers and led her upstairs to her bedroom (the wedding had occurred in her front yard). Remus looked a little perplexed, as if he didn't know what was supposed to happen next. _

_After closing the door behind them, Tonks whipped around and began passionately kissing Remus all over the face, at least until Remus pushed her gently away. _

_"What's this, Dora?" he asked. Tonks gritted her teeth. Even having Remus call her 'Dora' irritated her, although it was certainly more bearable than 'Nymphadora.' _

_"Oh, Remus, Remus, Remus? Don't tell me you don't know what a wedding night is for!" Tonks moaned, kissing Remus' neck, again until Remus shoved her aside. He turned his back to her and went to the window, looking a little distressed. Tonks bit her lip. No, this couldn't be his first time!_

_"Wait, Remus, are you kidding me?" Tonks asked, taking the bodice of her wedding dress off so that she was only in a skirt and bra. "You're still a virgin? And how old are you?"_

_"Is there a problem with that?" asked Remus back. Tonks didn't add anything to this, but Remus continued. "And are you saying that you're NOT a virgin on your wedding night? I thought people were supposed to hold out?"_

_"Oh, PLEASE!" Tonks groaned. "That notion is so medieval! And no, I am not a virgin!" she snapped back. She sat down next to Remus and lifted her skirt just enough to begin unrolling her pantyhose off her legs. Remus was silent for a moment as he watched Tonks do so (and secretly, that was partially why Tonks was doing it so slowly). _

_"Who was it with, then?" Remus asked._

_"Beg pardon?"_

_"Your first time, who was it with?" asked Remus._

_"Are you going to judge me whether or not I've had sex?" asked Tonks._

_Remus shook his head and loosened his tie. "Of course not! I married you, didn't I? It was just an innocent question, unless you're uncomfortable—"_

_"—not uncomfortable, just a little awkward."_

_"I'm sorry," Remus said, taking off his jacket. _

_Tonks waited a few beats. "But if you must know, it was to Bill Weasley, and I was nineteen."_

_"Oh really? Wasn't Molly pushing you on him?" asked Remus. He got up and went to Tonks' table, where a teapot and two teacups had been set up, along with a hot pot for boiling water in, and a few teabags. He began setting up for some tea. _

_"That's why she was. Bill and I…um…Bill and I were a couple for the first two years I was in Auror training, and that thrilled Molly, who's wanted grandchildren since Bill was old enough to have a wet dream—"_

_Remus interrupted Tonks' speech with a laugh. "That certainly sounds like Molly." _

_"Indeed. Anyways, Bill was always up front about our relationship. And it was the first time for the both of us, so naturally, when he told Molly, she sounded like she was going to go mental. But then, we broke up. Mostly because of me. I wanted to concentrate on my training. Molly was devastated, so when I graduated, she naturally began pushing a match between us again. But it was around that time Bill met Fleur, and we had lost interest in each other by that time anyways, so, that was that. Fleur may be a bubble-headed girl, but she and Bill will be happy, just like we will be, Remus," assured Tonks. _

_"What a story!" Remus said, setting the hot pot so he could sit down beside Tonks again. _

_"Though I wouldn't exactly call this foreplay," Tonks muttered._

_"Give me a while! Can't we do more as husband and wife than roll around on the bed?" asked Remus._

_"Are you going to judge me?" asked back Tonks._

_"Actually, having a partner with experience is easing my nerves a little bit."_

_"You're actually nervous about tonight?" asked Tonks. "I'm surprised, after thirty-five years of keeping it to yourself, I would've thought you couldn't wait to use it at last!"_

_"Well, when you're…like…I am, you have more things on your mind than who's bones to jump," Remus said, smirking. _

_"Remus Lupin! Hearing the term 'jumping their bones' from you is like hearing my Grandmum talk about condoms!" Tonks shrieked. Remus laughed and put his arm around her shoulder. "Did you ever have girlfriends in school, Remus?"_

_"No," said Remus. _

_"So, I'M your first girlfriend too?!" said Tonks, shooting up from the bed, throwing her hands u in the air in a comical surrender. "I'm getting a divorce! I married a dud, not a stud like I'd once thought!"_

_Remus blushed. "Actually, I said I had no girlfriends in SCHOOL…"_

_Tonks quickly sat back down…on Remus' lap this time. "Ooh, this suddenly got interesting again!" _

_"After James and Lily Potter got married, Sirius set me up with this Muggle girl who Lily had in her bridal party. Her name was Colleen Turner."_

_"Was she pretty?" asked Tonks. "And don't think you have to lie for my sake. If she was as pretty as Madonna, I want to know."_

_"Actually, she was an ex of Sirius' before he started going with Bastet Pollux, so naturally she had a good body. But her face was average at best, and her hair was almost white, it was so blonde."_

_"And--?"_

_"And, we went on a few dates. I soon felt comfortable enough to tell her about my…disorder, and she accepted it well enough. She joined the Order with me too, and things got serious, pardon the pun."_

_"So why didn't you fuck her?" asked Tonks bluntly. Remus looked at her oddly. _

_"Because I told you, I thought everyone waited until the wedding night! But that's wasn't all. During the first war, a month or so before James and Lily were killed, Rodolphus and RabastianLestrange wiped out her and her family on a single curse from each of the men."_

_"How awful! You still think about her?"_

_"No," said Remus. _

_"That's terrible," Tonks said solemnly._

_Remus shook his head. "No, it's not. Colleen would have wanted me to move on and I did and tried to bring back my happiness for her sake. This is actually the first time in years I've mentioned the girl."_

_"What a sad story!" mused Tonks. Suddenly, she shoved Remus onto his back on the bed and climbed in top of him. Remus wrestled with her playfully. _

_"DORA!!" he laughed. _

_"Now, if you'll excuse me, I do believe there's a little matter of our wedding night to take care of…" Tonks said, playfully. She and Remus began kissing and rolling around on the bed somewhat wildly, as the hot pot on the table began whistling loudly, telling the lovers that tea was ready. _

_But they never had their tea that night. _

_

* * *

_

"NYMPHADORA!! PAY ATTENTION!!" Andromeda said, holding up her wand. "BLUE SPARKS!"

"WHAT?" asked Tonks, snapping back to attention. The light was suddenly much dimmer…how long had she been daydreaming? They were over water now, and Tonks could barely make out her and her thestral's reflection in the twilight.

"Always when you fly into a city, you send up blue spark and wait for green sparks to gain permission to land! We're just under fifty miles from Copenhagen!" Andromeda instructed, shooting up blue sparks. Tonks quickly got out her wand and shot up a few sparks of her own. The women waited a moment, but no green sparks came. Andromeda shot up a few more sparks, and after a few minutes, some red sparks shot up, spelling out a message.

"No place to land, Muggle festival going on. Relay to Normandy," Tonks read aloud before the sparks dissipated.

"Damn," Andromeda cursed under her breath. "That's in the other direction! Nymphadora, turn due west, we can be there in maybe an hour if our thestrals can hold."

"Where's Normandy?" asked Tonks, turning her thestral parallel to Andromeda's in the other direction.

"It's sad you don't know that. It's on the shore of France…"

* * *

Luckily for the travelers, the thestrals were able to hold out until they got the green sparks from the Normandy port. Tonks and Andromeda, entirely too exhausted from the trip, released their thestrals into the small wooded area near the local wizarding tavern and motel called "The Raven's Wing" to frolic with the other travelers' thestrals. Andromeda checked the trio into a room upstairs and then ordered some tea and watercress sandwiches to be brought up to their room. With the remaining energy she had, Tonks took off her traveling robes and put on an oversized t-shirt to serve as a nightgown, Tonks bathed Teddy and changed him (a whole day's travel really made the changing part unbearable…Remus usually did that part, and Andromeda did it at Grimmauld Place). After she fed Teddy and put him down in the makeshift crib she made out of the chaise longue in the corner, she collapsed on the small bed on the left, barely enough energy in her to reach over to turn on the lamp between the two beds.

Andromeda came in then with the food. "Oh Mum, I'm not hungry, least of all for watercress and mayonnaise," Tonks shuddered.

"Eat anyways, we've both had a long day, and we won't have time before we set off again. We need to wake up an hour earlier than expected if we want to make it to Vienna tomorrow," Andromeda instructed. Tonks sat up and reached for a sandwich and took a delicate bite. The lump of sandwich did not go down her throat easily.

"Vienna?" Tonks asked between bites.

"Our goal by tomorrow night. I mapped it all out this morning before we left. We can cut the journey 's timing to-and from in half if we stick to the locations I've pointed out. Tomorrow is Vienna. The day after is Istanbul, which is on the Mediterrainian like Sirius said. After that we're going to shift directions and head to Cairo, Egypt."

"Wouldn't that be out of our way?"

"We'll land in Cairo on the weekend and rest there for two days. After our resting period, our next destination is in a small magic-only village in Kazakhstan called Aktas. After a night in Aktas, we head to Kashmir, India, then to Delhi for another rest, then from Delhi, it's a day's journey to the Himalayas, where the Borderland is!"

"Mum, you had fun doing that, didn't you?" asked Tonks.

"A little," Andromeda confessed, taking a bite of sandwich.

"I hate to disappoint you, Mum, but some of those locations and dates are quite a stretch for one-day's travel, not to mention pending weather and wind—"

"—well, Tonks, I wasn't the one who chose to go on this lovely little outing, wasn't I?" Andromeda said, lying down on her bed fully clothed. "We need some sleep. Especially you. You're going to need all the sleep you can get, Nymphadora."

Tonks sat up straight, alarmed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Good night, Nymphadora," Andromeda said, turning out the light before Tonks could say anything else.


	6. The First Road Block

Tonks couldn't sleep, as tired as she was. So she decided to quietly sneak outside to see if she could tire herself out with a moonlit stroll in the woods behind the Raven's Wing.

The night was serene and tranquil. Not even the wind rustled through the trees, aside from a small breeze that wafted by in twenty-minute intervals. It was also a bit cooler for a midsummer's eve than Tonks would've expected, particularly in France. The moon was waxing, almost full, but not quite there yet. Tonks didn't want to look at it for too long. As it had caused pain for Remus, it caused pain for her too.

Every month during the year she and Remus were married, Remus would steal away from the house for that one night to keep his wife safe. Tonks would sit up and wonder exactly how much pain her love was in. He would always be deathly tired when he stumbled in the next morning. Tonks would get him to the sofa and stuff him full of tea and scones to help speed his recovery (Tonks didn't make these herself; Merlin knows they'd be damn near poisonous if she made them). It always made Tonks feel…well…curious about what is was like to morph fully into an animal, even against your will. Sure, she could make her nose look like a pig's snout, but being a Metamorphmagus meant that becoming an Animagus would be that much harder to accomplish, as it would be natural for Tonks just to change her nose. She often wondered what animal she were to be if she did manage to become an Animagus one day. Remus suggested that she's perhaps become a bird of some kind.

Tonks dismissed this, saying, "Nah, birds are too graceful."

Remus didn't seem to argue with this, so he threw out another suggestion: a dolphin. Tonks was playful, smart, yet a little young in spirit. This one was what Tonks agreed to. A dolphin would've been her Animagus form.

Tonks then thought of Teddy. Remus had been a nervous wreck during a lot of her pregnancy, convinced that the child was a werewolf. But Tonks gave birth on the night before a full moon, and when Teddy didn't make any transformation the next night, Remus was so ecstatic that he'd Apparated to Bill and Fleur's cottage to spread that happy news straight away. But…would Remus have wanted his son to know that he was fathered by a werewolf?

Tonks shook her head. No, he would not have. But he was always taking a ridiculous line on that situation. The only reason being a werewolf was 'wrong' was because of that creepy Dolores Umbridge woman. Her anti-werewolf laws struck fear into peoples' hearts. But if people had known Remus, who was the gentlest creature Tonks had ever known, maybe people would've changed their minds. She decided that she would one day tell Teddy all about his father, when he was old enough to understand. She was certain that he'd be proud of his father no matter what he was.

At least he probably wasn't in pain anymore, Remus. Perhaps, even thought it was probably currently daylight in the Himalayas, he would be looking up at the moon tomorrow night for the first time in a long time as a human being and smile, knowing that it was the same moon his family was staring at right now.

And Remus was a smart man. He knew that whenever his wife looked at the moon, regardless of what phase it was currently in, she thought only of him and how he was at peace in his new home.

That thought in itself was enough for Tonks to smile, if only for a fraction of a second.

* * *

After a quick breakfast at 5:30 in the morning (Tonks had returned to her room by three and managed to sleep for a little more than two hours before Andromeda shook her awake), the two women packed everything, took care of Teddy's needs, and rounded up the thestrals for the long day's journey to Vienna. While Tonks mounted her thestral and took Teddy in her grip (Tonks felt significantly more confident on her thestral that she felt she could hold Teddy), Andromeda was giving directions.

"We're going to be heading southeast again for most of the morning," she said, getting on her thestral. "By the time we see the Alps, it should be lunchtime and we should be closing in on Switzerland. Once we cross that border, we will stop for a one hour rest. From there, we head to Vienna and make it just after sundown. Got it, Nymphadora?"

But Tonks had already begun running her thestral for takeoff.

Once both women were up in the air and flying at a safe altitude (Tonks was still a little unstable on hers, but Teddy didn't seem to object very much). Tonks made sure she was much more alert on this flight than she was yesterday (she still couldn't believe she daydreamt on a thestral while flying all day over the English Channel). Tonks liked flying over water a bit better on her broom, for it was always cool to see her reflection in the sea below. But flying over the pine and deciduous forests alike in France was just as beautiful, particularly because this was another spectacular day for flying. The clouds, however few there were, we considerable higher up in the sky, so Andromeda and Tonks could see for miles the horizons surrounding them. Andromeda, without even telling Tonks, took a small 'detour' from their route so they could fly around Paris. This thrilled Tonks, who loved circling the Eiffel Tower. Andromeda personally loved looking at the beautiful old cathedral (though the name of which she forgot) that lied on the _Ile de la Cite_, from a birds-eye view.

Once out of Paris, Andromeda picked up the speed a little bit so they could make their lunchtime destination. But the snowy and promising mountains that told them they were on the border of Switzerland were a long time in coming. Andromeda couldn't even see them on the horizon yet. Maybe she shouldn't have taken that detour after all?

So, instead, for a lunch break, Andromeda and Tonks made their touchdown in Dijon around one-thirty in the afternoon. While they changed Teddy, fed him, and released the thestrals to snack around a bit, Tonks and Andromeda stopped in a small Muggle coffee shop for some sandwiches. They sat outside on the street to eat, and for most of the meal, the women were silent.

Tonks finally broke the silence. "Mum? How come you can see them?"

"Beg pardon?" was her mother's reply.

Tonks took a small bite of her sandwich before asking again. "I mean, you can only see thestrals when you witness a death and it sinks in. I assume I can see them because I was there when Sirius fell through the veil after Bellatrix got him. But you weren't there, and you weren't at the Battle, and nor were you there when dad was—"

Andromeda interrupted Tonks with a deep, loud sigh. "I've been able to see thestrals for many, many years, Nymphadora."

"Why?"

Andromeda leaned back in her chair and recalled the incident that gave her the power to see her thestrals. "Well, it was after I got engaged to your father, and of course, I knew for a fact that once I told my sisters and parents, I'd be burned right off the family tree. So naturally, Ted and I hesitated for a little while on that subject."

"Naturally," agreed Tonks.

"Well, things got a little more…ahem…COMPLICATED…when I, um, became pregnant with you," Andromeda said, avoid eye contact with Tonks (and was she BLUSHING?).

"Mother! I was born out of wedlock?" Tonks asked, mocking a shocked tone of voice. Tonks then gasped overdramatically. "I never would have guessed!"

"Not born, just…conceived is all," Andromeda excused. Tonks rolled her eyes. "So," Andromeda continued. "I decided to tell my family one night around the supper table. Bellatrix was already married, but she and Rodolphus were dining with us that night. I was so nervous…it just…popped out during the soup course!"

"Then what happened? Who got killed?" Tonks sounded like a little girl whose mother was telling her an adventure story.

"You see, the Black had several House Elves back then. Bellatrix had her own, I had my own, and Narcissa had her own. Mine was a young male House-Elf named Shinks. Shinks was more than a House-Elf to me. I felt so alone during those Merlin-awful summers I had to spend with the family. I always felt so detached from them, you know? Shinks and I were like friends during those summers. He'd make tea for both of us, and then he'd complain about how Kreacher would always bully him around, and I'd complain about how my sisters would bully me around. Shinks knew about you and Ted before any of THEM knew. Well, when I told the family about you and Ted, none of them reacted at first—it was shock, I suppose—and when someone did absorb the information I had just given, it was Bellatrix first."

Tonks shuddered. "Oh Merlin, I can see where this is going…" Tonks had flashbacks to a year ago when Bellatrix had personally come after her while trying to get the seven Harry Potters to safety. Not to mention, during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Bellatrix had tried several times before targeting Sirius to do in her blood-traitor niece.

"Anyway, in her fury, she pointed her wand at Shinks as he brought out a tray of salads, and then, before I could stop her, green sparks flew."

"How awful," Tonks mumbled.

"After Ted heard about it, he purchased these two very thestrals because I could see them now."

"And how come Dad could see them?" asked Tonks.

"You know, I never quite knew that," Andromeda said after thinking a moment. "I assume it had to do with Ted's mother, who was long dead by the time I met him. Everyone else in his family was still alive at the time."

Tonks nodded. "Remus could see them, I bet" Tonks muttered. "After what happened with his father so many years ago and Fenrir Greyback—"

"—enough reminiscing, Nymphadora," Andromeda ordered, her voice turning cold as stone again. "We're still miles and miles away from Switzerland. We might have to switch our destination from Vienna to Zurich if we don't get a move on!"

* * *

The afternoon's weather was a little bit harder to navigate through, as the wind began picking up a little bit after three in the afternoon. The pair of fliers were going against the wind, which slowed them down even more. Andromeda got very angry when they finally hit mountain ranges and the wind picked up even worse.

"I'll be thanking Merlin if we even make it across the border!" Andromeda shouted to Tonks (the wind made seeing and hearing equally as hard).

"Mum, Teddy's fussing. It's not good for him up here," Tonks said, bundling Teddy even closer into her mother's cloak (Tonks herself put up the huge hood in order to try and keep warmer…it was SUMMER! How cold could it be in the MOUNTAINS?). "He could get sick!"

"It's about two hours until sundown! We'll see where we are by then. We can hold out, Nymphadora! I promise," Andromeda said loudly.

"Is there any resting places before Zurich?!" Tonks hollered. Teddy began fussing even worse and crying.

"Maybe there might be a small bordertown we could lodge at for the night! I bet there is," Andromeda thought. She tried to think of an alternative route that wasn't so miserable for her child and grandchild. Perhaps if they deviated south to Monaco and followed the northern coast of the Mediterrainian…

…but within a few moment, Andromeda's thoughts were interrupted when suddenly, red sparks started shooting up all around Tonks and Andromeda's thestrals. The startled thestrals bucked, nearly hurling the women to the ground. Tonks screamed and tried to hold on to Teddy while holding onto her thestral. Andromeda' having been lost in thought, was caught off guard and thrown right off hers and send falling towards the earth.

Tonks screamed. She couldn't get her wand without letting go of either her son or her own grip on the thestral's neck! "MUM!" she shouted helplessly.

But someone else shouted "_Wingardium__Leviosa_!" Andromeda's horrifying descent stopped, and Andromeda was lifted safely back onto her thestral. The two winged beasts were calmed down, but Tonks and Andromeda were stuck on them, midair. They found themselves surrounded by no less than eight French Aurors, all their wands pointed at the two ladies.

"_Arret_ There is no border crossing, by order of the Prime Minister of Magic of France, at least not until all the old followers of the Former Dark Lord are found and arrested," said one blond male Auror.

"Nymphadora, do we have papers?"

Tonks grunted. "I don't know, do we?" was her reply. Andromeda wanted to slap her forehead. In all the depression and excitement of the trip, she'd forgotten to procure three visas!

"Monsieur," said Andromeda. "We are on a pilgrimage. We are not Dark witches."

The Aurors whispered amongst themselves, some even looked like they were ready to laugh.

"That is what they all say, Madame. Come with us to land your beasts," said the young blonde Auror. "You're journey is at an end."


	7. Falling Behind

"Monsieur! Surely this is a mistake!" protested Andromeda. The Aurors, having gotten Tonks and Andromeda under their control, were dragging them, along with the thestrals, towards an old castle-like ruin that looked like Hogwarts after an earthquake had hit it. The rough French Aurors weren't handling their captives too nicely. Andromeda was barely putting up a fight, and yet she was being jerked around like a permanent Azkaban inmate. Tonks, holding Teddy, kept her son close to her bosom. Teddy wasn't crying, but he was clearly fussy.

"No mistake, Madame," said the blonde male Auror. "We have word that many Dark Witches from England are fleeing from the English Ministry in order to avoid Azkaban punishment. Since none of you have the proper visas and paperwork—"

"But I'm an English Auror!" Tonks said.

"There is no proof of your claim," said another Auror. "You shall be locked away until we can properly identify the three of you."

One of the Aurors holding Tonks tried to pry Teddy from her grip. Tonks hissed like a wild animal. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY SON!" The Auror seemed to back off, at least for a moment.

Andromeda gave Tonks a worried look. This was a little more than a road block that they were facing…

* * *

Once inside the ruins that served as a prison, the Aurors spent nearly two hours (it was almost dark outside by the time they were finished) processing the new prisoners and interrogating them. None of them said anything that they hadn't already said. Andromeda did most of the talking.

"I already told you. My name is Andromeda Aries Tonks, this is my daughter Nymphadora Castor Lupin, and her son, Theodore Remus Lupin!"

The dark-skinned Auror interrogating them knitted his eyebrows together. "And, Mademoiselle Lupin, why is her husband not with her?"

"What, is this the Middle Ages? Her husband doesn't HAVE to be with her at all times! Who even said she HAS a husband?" Andromeda protested. Tonks rocked Teddy back and forth. He was getting ever fussier.

"Her last name is different from yours," said the dark Auror.

"Does it matter to you? We are innocent witches on a pilgrimage!"

"To where?"

"That's private information," Andromeda snapped back. Tonks rolled her eyes. This had been going on for hours. "Why do you doubt us?"

"Well, the blood testing showed no Polyjuice in your blood, but you still could be ex-Death Eaters fleeing Azbakan. After all, we caught two last night as well who proved to be just as guilty."

"Check with the Ministry in England! Talk to Kingsley Shacklebolt, my daughter WORKS with him and was in the Order of the Phoenix with him!" Andromeda spat out.

"Again, could all be lies. I will not bother Minister Shacklebolt with your petty case. I will process your information like I do everyone else, and even then, how can I be sure you didn't give false information?"

"You're absolutely pathetic, believing two innocent women and a baby were incapable of telling the truth!" Andromeda said sternly. Tonks just wished Andromeda would shut up before they got into worse trouble.

"Captain!" called the man to his colleague. "I don't think we'll get much out of them tonight."

"Come with me," called the Captain Auror, waving his wand to that Andromeda and Tonks followed him without much of a struggle. They were led deeper into the basement of the ruins to where the cells were. The Captain chose a somewhat larger cell with two beds piled on top of each other (Muggles called them bunkbeds) and a small toilet, completely out in the open, in the opposite corner. The Captain shoved the women roughly inside and locked the door. The only light came from two torches hanging just outside the cell bars. The air was damp and thick. Tonks could hardly breathe.

"These cells are Apparation/Disapparation-proof, magic-proof, and your wands are I my desk, out of reach of you. Your thestrals are tied up outside. There is no way of escape. We will come get you in the morning for more questions. If you're LUCKY, your names can be processed within a month or two, and you will be free…maybe." And with those words, the Captain left the women to themselves. Andromeda was furious. Tonks seemed depressed, no doubt. But she was much quieter about the whole thing.

"Nymphadora, darling, you wouldn't, by any chance have an extra wand on you?" asked Andromeda.

"You think if I did, I wouldn't have blasted that evil man with a few jinxes and Memory charms?" asked back Tonks.

"Damn them to hell," muttered Andromeda, pacing the floor. Tonks took a seat on the bottom bunk of the bed, still rocking Teddy. "Looks like our journey really is over."

"No it's not, Mum," assured Tonks. "They just need to process our names. Kingsley will surely vouch for us."

"But that will take at LEAST a month! You want to wait here until then?" asked Andromeda.

"Of course not. Mum, I think the best way to get out of this is to NOT put up a fight," Tonks said. "We know we're right, and once they figure that out, they'll send us on our way with gift baskets!"

Andromeda looked at Tonks with disbelief. "This isn't real. You're the one acting rational now?"

Tonks shrugged. "I suppose so. Mostly for Teddy's sake above anything else."

Andromeda nodded. "You really are a mummy now," she muttered. Tonks felt a chill run down her spine, as if what Andromeda said was just sinking in now. Neither mother nor daughter talked much after that…

* * *

The hours passed slowly for the caged birds. Tonks, having no food for Teddy, nursed him quietly until he drifted off to sleep. For a few hours after that (it had to be close to midnight), Tonks napped on the lower bunk with Teddy. Meanwhile Andromeda paced some more (it actually helped settle her nerves). But…she could have sworn she heard muffled voiced from above her head.

"_But why not?__ They seem so unwilling to talk…__"_

Andromeda tried to follow the faint noise to its source. Ther was a small hole in the upper corner of the cell, right above the toilet. Andromeda lowered the seat and stood on it to get a better hear. It was two Aurors talking (the voices seemed vaguely familiar).

_"These are two strong women, who were well-packed. They clearly intended to go SOMEWHERE…"_

_"They talked of some 'pilgrimage' but where in Europe has somewhere wizard and witches flock to?" _

_"Perhaps their destination was in Asia or Africa. They might not have been destined for a European landmark."_

_"I still think they're ex-Death Eaters on the run, sir."_

_"We can't know until information is delivered from England to us on their histories! And that damn processing procedure takes months! How can we get them to talk? __Torture?"_

_"Torture is completely unethical, sir. But…the daughter, the Lupin girl with the baby…maybe the baby is the key to getting her to say something."_

_"Did she talk at all during the interrogation?"_

_"No sir. Just the loudmouthed mother…"_

Andromeda growled. Loudmouthed? She hadn't been called a 'loudmouth' in so long…ironic how it was beginning to seem like Tonks and Andromeda were switching personalities.

_"__Hm__, what do you suggest we do with the babe?"_

"Nothing," Andromeda ordered subconsciously. If any of those nasty Aurors touched her grandson, they'd find themselves trying to run away from her without any legs.

_"When we wake them tomorrow, we'll take the child away until __Damoiselle __Lupin talks."_

That was all Andromeda needed to hear. They were going to do something bad to Teddy, and Tonks had nothing to 'talk' about that wasn't already said! This was very bad. Andromeda got off the toilet and paced the room, trying to think of a way out. But she didn't have her wand, and she couldn't Disapparate…

But what about wandless magic? Andromeda sighed. She was able to perform wandless magic, but not very well, and she hadn't done so in the long time. She looked at the door and took a deep breath. Perhaps no one you Apparate in and out of the cell, but maybe the cell itself was still vulnerable?

"_Reducio_…" muttered Andromeda, mutters and holding out a hand, concentrating on the barred door. Nothing happened to the door. Damn.

But then, Andromeda got a second idea. She concentrated on herself and muttered again "_reducio_." This time, Andromeda shrunk slightly. Sighing with relief, Andromeda grew herself back to her normal size and went to Tonks' bedside to shake her awake.

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda said. "We're leaving!"

Tonks blinked away and sat up slowly, so as not to wake Teddy. "We've been sprung?"

Andromeda shook her head. "No, we're making our escape tonight. I can shrink us enough so we can squeeze through the bars."

"Mum, are you mad?!" Tonks nearly shrieked.

"Do you WANT to find the Borderland or not?" Andromeda asked. Tonks sighed and nodded.

"Using wandless magic, Mum?" she asked. Andromeda nodded and waves her arms, muttering the spell again under her breath. Tonks and Teddy both shrunk to about a quarter of her original size. Then Andromeda again shrunk herself. Tonks and Teddy were easily able to get through the barred door. Andromeda had been off when performing the spell on herself and had to shrink again before letting herself out.

"That seemed almost..too easy," Tonks muttered. "Why wouldn't the Aurors have thought of that before?"

"Not many people can go wandless, Nymphadora," Andromeda whispered. "_Engorgio_…"

Tonks and Teddy, followed by Andromeda, quickly grew to their normal size. "Keep him quiet!" Andromeda instructed. Tonks nodded and pressed Teddy snuggly against her bosom. Andromeda wished she could form light from her hands, but even she wasn't THAT capable. So they had to guide themselves in the dark.

Surprisingly, there was no door locking the dungeons off from the rest of the ruins, so Andromeda, Tonks, and Teddy easily began walking up the long, relentless spiral staircase towards the outside.

"They tied up our thestrals right outside the gate. We can get them easily," Tonks muttered.

"SH! You want to get caught? If we do, they're false suspicions will be confirmed, no less!" Andromeda snapped. "I think we're almost there…"

Sure enough, a light terminated the spiral stone stairwell, but Andromeda, who was in the lead, took a peek around the final curve into the source of the light. What she remembered was that the stairwell led right up to the Captain Auror's office. The man was asleep at his desk.Andromeda saw hers and her daughter's wands sticking out of a drawer in his desk. Andromeda turned back towards Tonks.

"Stay here and keep Teddy close. When you hear me Body-Bind him, run for the door on the other end of the room, understand, Nymphadora?"

Tonks nodded and looked down at Teddy. Amazing how he could still be asleep. "But Mum, once he's uncursed, won't they come flying after us?"

"Surely, but legally, they can't chase us once we cross into Switzerland. Seeing as they were border patrolling, I'd say we were within an hour from the border where we were arrested."

"But can't they alert other countries of us?" asked Tonks.

"You of all people would know, yes! But that just means we have to be more careful, won't we? I can easily Apparate home from our next stop to retrieve some papers. Now SH! I need to do this before he wakes up! _ACCIO, wands_!"

Andromeda held out her hand in an open position, and both wands came flying out of the desk and into Andromeda's hand. She tossed one to Tonks. "Now keep alert! Once I curse him, bolt out the door, stun or bind anyone you see, regardless of who they are, got it?"

Tonks again nodded silently.

"This must be done silently and swiftly. Head right for where our thestrals are, get on yours, and fly off towards the border. I'll bring up the rear and catch up once we're in the air again. We must fly hard and fast, and all night, you hear? If I fall behind, keep going until you hit Zurich!"

"Mum, let's do this before I get nervous!" Tonks moaned. Andromeda nodded. She saw no more directions that needed to be given, so she ran up the staircase and into the source of the light. Tonks kept a look out for the signal. She had her doubts about this 'brilliant plan.' After all, as 'skilled' as her mother was, it was still going to be at least five highly-trained Aurors against one middle-aged witch.

_"Um…uh…what in the name of—?"_

_"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"_

As soon as she heard the familiar "thud" of a body hitting the floor in a full Body-Bind, Tonks quickly kissed Teddy's forehead and bolted out of the stairwell. Immediately hearing the ruckus, Aurors began scrambling around for their wands, but Andromeda and Tonks began shooting curses first as they tried to advance to the exit.

_"STUPEFY!"_

_"REDUCTO!"_

_"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"_

_"PROTEGO!"_

_"SILENCIO!"_

The curses, counter-curses, and protection shields flew all over the lobby. Amid the chaotic scene, Tonks lost track of her mother. But after stunning an Auror blocking the main exit, Tonks found a clear shot to freedom. Although she wanted to try and see if her mother was going to make it out in one piece, Tonks obeyed Andromeda' command and ran to the gate. Sure enough, the thestrals were there waiting for her. She quickly severed the ropes of both of them, but she only hopped on one, made sure Teddy, who looked startled mad (yet his hair was still a happy blue), was still secure in her arm, and then took off into the clear moonlit night.

Tonks flew away from the moon, heading due west. She looked behind her every few seconds to look for both Aurors chasing after her or her mother, escaping from the fray herself. Tonks was relieved that she saw no signs of pursuing Aurors giving chase.

But her heart felt heavy with fear every time she turned around, only to see Andromeda nowhere in sight.


	8. There's a Storm Coming

_**A/N: **__My __Youtube__ friend, Kitty, who makes __fanfic__ trailers for me, made a trailer for this story__ (just search for the title of this story and it should come up) __go on there and comment her (she loves comments like I love reviews!) and watch her other __vids__ (she makes some really funny Harry Potter MVs)! Sorry, had to endorse my friend because she endorses me! ;)_

* * *

Tonks, never letting her tight grip on Teddy loosen, flew all night, as Andromeda had instructed her to. The night remained her friend: quiet, calm, clear, bright, and without Aurors chasing her around (although Tonks was still moderately paranoid over the subject and kept looking over her shoulder ever few minutes). Because of her fear of being found, Tonks decided to change her appearance for the first time since Remus' death. The Aurors looked for a brunette with shoulder-length hair and a heart-shaped face. So Tonks turned her hair red and grew it out until it brushed the top of her buttock. She then opted to make her face a little rounder, and her nose a little less pronounced. As she reached the Alps, Tonks climbed in altitude a bit in order to glide over them safely, and before long, Tonks began seeing the bright lights of some small villages. She could only assume she was safely in Switzerland now. 

And Andromeda was still nowhere in sight.

The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon and light the path for Tonks and Teddy as she approached from overhead a wad of lighted buildings. She could only assume that this was Zurich, Switzerland. Breathing heavily and looking over her shoulder for any trace of her mother one last time (there was none), Tonks began her descent over the city, making her thestral land on top of the roof of a Muggle hotel (it wasn't a problem, after all, Muggles couldn't see thestrals even if they had seen death). She got off and looked at the horizon opposite the rising sun. Tonks wanted to cry. It looked like her mother was lost now, too. She pated Teddy's head and went inside, finding a set of stairs leading right to the lobby on the ground floor.

Luckily for Tonks, Andromeda had stuffed several wads of Muggle money (how PAPER could be worth anything was beyond Tonks' comprehension) in Tonks' pocket, charmed with a unique charm Ted once told her about, automatically converting the change into the type of currency used in the country the cash was located. Tonks used the emergency money to buy a room for a few days for her and her son.

But eight-o-clock in the morning, Tonks had settled into the room and was now sitting in a deck chair on the small porch her room provided. It overlooked the very heart of Zurich. Down below, the Muggle Swiss folk went about their daily lives. Tonks wondered if she could find a wizard or witch in this town. Probably, this city looked fairly big. What Tonks wouldn't do for a firewhiskey…

Teddy was fast asleep on the single bed in the room. He looked so peaceful. Tonks felt so…so UNpeaceful. Where was she to go from here? Andromeda was the one who knew where they were going! Wasn't she supposed to be going to Vienna today, or soon after? Where did she go from there? Lost, Tonks wondered if she should just Apparate herself and Teddy home. After all, she had absolutely nowhere to go from here.

But Tonks still felt the two wedding rings on her left ring finger, and with each passing day, they grew heavier and heavier. The whole point of this trip was to find what she had lost. Her heart beat heavily and painfully against her chest, as if punishing her for even THINKING of giving up. After all, in the very hour of his death, Remus had insisted on not Disapparating out of the very room her was to be killed in. He finished her battle, and Tonks so wanted to finish hers.

And thus her decision was made.

* * *

Tonks took a four-hour nap, and woke up by around two in the afternoon. Suddenly feeling incredibly hungry, Tonks awoke and changed Teddy, and then decided to head out into the city to try and find something decent to eat (also, she had hopes of possibly finding her mother in the crowds).

The day was as busy and bustling as Diagon Alley on a day right before a Hogwarts term started up. Tonks hadn't expected so many people to be staring at her despite her Muggle attire and naturally-human-colored hair (okay, maybe it was a really intense red).Tonks was very aware not to get too pissed off or emotional in any way, so her hair or face wouldn't change. To be 'uncovered' in a foreign country and in such a busy city was incredibly dangerous. Despite being an adult, Tonks felt helpless without her mother.

Tonks, luckily, kept herself under control despite the fact that she was all alone. She found a nice little central park area and a food vendor, from which she bought an early supper. She sat down on a bench big enough for two, and sat Teddy down beside her. Teddy, apparently had learned to sit up (when the hell did he learn THAT?) and was supporting himself and sitting up like a good boy. He looked up curiously at his mother as she ate her ham sandwich. Tonks couldn't help but see Remus in Teddy's mouth, chin, neck, and in the texture of his hair. The eyes, nose, and of course the blue hair (which some of the Swiss Muggles stared at) were all Tonks' genes. Woefully, Tonks snarfed the rest of her sandwich, suddenly not in the mood to eat, scooped up Teddy and wondered if the pool at the hotel was open.

On the way towards the entrance to the park, Tonks noticed a small fountain near a few willow trees. A dark-haired woman, looking much worse for the wear, sat perched on the edge of the fountain.

Tonks immediately recognized the woman and sighed with relief, walking briskly towards the woman. However, the woman immediately stood up and pointed her wadn at Tonks.

"Mum, it's me! Tonks! And Teddy!" Tonks assured, suddenly realizing her change of look wouldn't automatically convince Andromeda. It wasn't like she could change her appearance here, anyways.

"When, where, and how did you meet your husband, and where is he now?" asked Andromeda. Tonks realized she was checking to see in case Tonks was a French Auror in disguise. Tonks took a deep breath and begun her story.

"After Harry Potter saw Voldemort come back, you and I went to Grimmauld Place on a summoning from Sirius Black, your cousin. Remus Lupin, my husband, was there with Sirius when we got there. Remus Lupin is currently—"

Tonks was about to say "dead" when she took a deep breath and thought a more…lighthearted thought.

"Remus Lupin is currently waiting for me on the other side of the Border River in the Himalayan Mountains."

Andromeda seemed to smile at Tonks speaking this, and she put her wand away (again, people stared at the odd-looking woman holding a stick up as if it were a weapon against the other woman with long red hair).

Tonks and Andromeda embraced, with Teddy squished in the middle (although he seemed to like it).

"Mum! What happened? Where did you go?" Tonks asked worriedly.

"They caught me and threw me in the cell again and went out looking for you. But while they were out after you, I pulled the same stunt I'd done before and managed to make it out this time. Did they chase you for long, Nymphadora?"

Tonks shook her head energetically. "No, they didn't even catch me! I arrived her at dawn and sepnt the day pretty much sleeping and walking."

"I just arrived. My thestrals' on top of some medical building with a tooth puppet in the window," Andromeda said, looking over her shoulder.

Tonks laughed. For being a pure-blooded witch sometimes made her a little 'unaware' of the Muggle realm. "That's a dentist's office, Mum!"

"Oh, you'll have to explain that to me later. Where is your thestral?"

"On top of the hotel I'm staying at! It's only a few blocks down this way," Tonks said, pointing.

"You go back to the hotel, and I'll Apparate my thestral and I over, then we can retire to your room for the night."

Tonks sighed in relief. "I think that's a great idea!"

* * *

_"And the weather forecast for the Southern half of Europe over the next few days looks very testy as far as traveling of any kind. A huge cold front is shredding it's way over the Western half of the continent__ heading due east at approximately 30 kilometers per hour__, bringing with it violent thunderstorms, hail, rain, flooding, and even a few reports of tornado__ touch-downs__ in Luxembourg and __Belgium. __Already State of Emergency reports are coming in from several provinces in Western France, Portugal, Spain, and so forth. The front is expected to arrive in Bern and Zurich by tomorrow mid-afternoon, s__o only travel if it is absolutely necessary…"_

"Balderdash!" Andromeda huffed, turning the television in the hotel room off. It was now coming on nine at night. The sky was quickly fading and now was almost black (although one could hardly tell with all the city lights).

Tonks sat on the edge of the chaise longue, stroking her son's cheek as he slept.

"Are you absolutely bonkers, Mum?!" Tonks said, sounding and looking horrified. "The weather reports are all telling us to TAKE shelter! So let's stay here until it passes before we move on!"

"Oh, Muggles are all such dramatic whiners! It's probably just a rain shower!" Andromeda said, pacing the room. "Besides, Vienna's not nearly as far a journey as the past few days have been. If we start out ahead of the storm , we should be in Vienna well before the storm!"

"Mum, these are old thestrals, they fly at no more than 20 kilometers an hour! The storm WILL catch us!" Tonks pleaded. "Think of Teddy!"

"So far, that son of yours has survived a brutal arrest, a night in a jail cell, nearly hurdling to his death after falling off a thestral, and now you're worried about a thunderstorm? Besides," Andromeda said, holding up her wand, "we have THESE!"

"Mum, I don't think the Muggles of Europe would very much appreciate us altering their weather!" Tonks snapped.

"No, but we can certainly protected OURSELVES from the nasty weather! Besides, it doesn't really look so bad. What are tornadoes anyway?"

Tonks wished she could answer that, but she barely knew herself.

"Mum…fine, we'll get up and head out ahead of the storm front tomorrow, but we really need to be careful!" Tonks said. "And you need to stop acting like me and more like you!"

"Ditto," muttered Andromeda. She sat down next to Tonks and looked at her grandson. "We really are changed, aren't we, Nymphadora?"

Tonks nodded and threw her arms around her mother, like a little girl. "What do you expect? It hasn't even been a fortnight, and we've won a war, lost our husbands, and started out on a rather EXHAUSTING trip to find them again in a place that a PAINTING of our cousin told us about!"

"What did Ted do to deserve what he got? And Remus? Remus was such a sweet lad…" Andromeda muttered.

Tonks felt tears come to her eyes at her mother's mentioning of Remus' name. "He was entirely too good for me," she said. "To think, if he hadn't gone against his will and married me, he might have lived, seeing as he wouldn't have needed to defend me from Dolohov—"

"—don't think like that, Nymphadora!" Andromeda pleaded. "It's true, Mum!" Tonks said back. "Sometimes…I think he married me because I cornered him the day in the hospital wing…that he felt forced. Maybe he didn't love me after all," Tonks whispered with a hint of fear in her voice.

"No, Nymphadora! If he really didn't care about you, then Teddy wouldn't be here."

"Mum, he ran out on me after I told him about my pregnancy, and it took a seventeen year old boy on the run to convince him to turn back."

"Did he ever TELL you he loved you?"

Tonks thought a moment, then nodded. Andromeda continued. "Remus Lupin wasn't a liar, my dear. He wouldn't have bothered to tell you if he didn't mean it! He loved you and Teddy very, very much. I know that for absolute certain. After all, he wouldn't have given his life for you had he not loved and cared for you."

Tonks fiddled with a piece of Teddy's blue hair. "What about Daddy?" she asked suddenly.

Andromeda giggled in the back of her throat at the mentioning of her own husband. "Your father was a silly old man," Andromeda mentioned. "He had a heart the size of all England, but as you well know, you get your rather, ahem, off-balance traits from him—"

"—my klutziness, you can said it," Tonks said, nodding.

"Actually, when he first proposed to me, we were standing on the London Bridge, and he almost fell over the side!"

"He didn't!" Tonks gasped, almost laughing.

"He ALMOST did!" Andromeda said back. "He was so fond of you and Remus, Nymphadora. He was so glad that you were happy. I bet when we see him again, he's going to ask you to marry another, just so you can find your happiness again."

Tonks shook her head. "I will never marry again, mother," she insisted.

"Like hell you won't," Andromeda said. "You aren't even thirty. You expect to be in mourning the rest of your life?"

"What about you?" asked Tonks, getting up and going to the mirror on the opposite wall of the bed.

"I'm much older. Ted was the love of my life. I'm old. My cycles have stopped. I'm a grandmother. I don't think I'll love again, Nymphadora."

"Yes, well neither will I!" Tonks said.

"Whatever you say, Nymphadora. Whatever you say," Andromeda said, shaking her head. She looked out the window, the dark, ominous clouds of tomorrow already seemed to be visible on the horizon…


	9. The Swans Before the Storm

_**A/N:**__ This chapter is going to be particularly shorter and more of a filler, but rest assured, the next few chapters are going to be more than making up for it as a new character enters our story….hints of this new character come in at the end of this chapter, see if you can guess who it is__ (it's going to be kind of obvious)__! Enjoy! _

* * *

"NYMPHADORA, STOP WORRYING! WE'RE FLYING WITH THE WIND!!" hollered Andromeda, raising her voice so her daughter could hear her above the roaring wind at their backs. The sky was overcast, with even darker clouds racing at them from behind. The air was cold and wet. Teddy was sneezing in Tonks' arms every few kilometers, and Tonks feared that the frequent flying and chilly mountain-range weather were getting her son sick. Andromeda had insisted from the start that they fly low, and they couldn't travel as far if they flew lower. And as fast as Tonks and Andromeda pushed their thestrals, the storm was clearly winning the race.

"MUM, IT'S GAINING ON US!" Tonks warned. "AND TEDDY'S SICK!!"

"KEEP IT UP! VIENNA'S NOT FAR OFF! YOU'RE FLYING JUST FINE!" Andromeda called back. Tonks groaned and pulled slightly ahead of her daft mother, and also climbed a little higher in altitude. While the air was turbulent with wind and near freezing cold, the morning still had an ambience of calm to it, particularly closer to the ground. Tonks decided to disobey her mother's order to keep low in altitude and flew higher and higher, hoping to break through the cloud cover.

"NYMPHADORA!! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" Andromeda called. But Tonks was too high up to hear the woman. She picked up speed with her thestral and finally hit the clouds. Hunching Teddy even deeper inside Andromeda's thick black cloak, Tonks suddenly took a face full of water. Ick. Holding her breath, Tonks suddenly popped out on the other side of the cloud that had just soaked her.

The sky above the clouds was absolutely gorgeous. Tonks held her breath again, this time out of pure awe for the vision. The early sun reflected off the clouds, making the tops of them turn orange and pink. The high cirrus clouds above Tonks looked like someone had lightly dabbed their blue ceiling with white paint on a thin little brush. The higher winds weren't nearly as bad as below, and instead of howling and cursing in her ear, these winds whispered a soft song. Teddy, who had been coughing and sneezing, suddenly stopped, his olive-colored hair turned to match the color of the sky, his happy blue. Tonks had to smile. It was a relief to see him happy, after a few hours of him coughing into her bosom. The peaceful sight looked nothing short of a masterpiece painting and the clouds from above looked almost good enough to eat.

A small flock of high-flying swans swerved up above the overcastting clouds (which seemed to wrap around the earth like a tight-fitting skin from horizon to horizon) and caressed the air, making the breeze hit Tonks slightly harder as they flew by gracefully (seems she was more than right when arguing with Remus why her Animgus form would NOT be a swan). Tonks' thestral called to the swans, fri9ghtening them for a moment. But soon, they seemed to realize the thestral meant no harm, and they lurked nearer the travelers, while, of course, still maintaining their distance. One particularly daring swan flew very near Tonks and Teddy and nipped at a bit of Teddy's blue hair. Instead of crying, Teddy giggled, delighted at the swan's kiss. The swan honked playfully at Teddy before he flew back to join the flock with his prize. Tonks sighed calmly as she watched the flock dip below the clouds again to land safely before the bad weather hit. Tonks weakly smiled. Teddy had made a friend.

Tonks wondered of this was what heaven looked like, and if this was what Remus saw whenever he had the notion to go for an early-morning stroll.

She then looked over her shoulder in the opposite direction, and a huge tower of black clouds loomed behind her. The storm was certainly almost on top of them, and from up here, it was even more obvious. The mass of clouds stretched much higher than the overcast clouds carpeting the space below Tonks and Teddy. Its darkness deeply contrasted the light blue behind it, almost like mother nature's version of a Dark Mark (this thought sent chills up and down Tonks' spine). Every so often (Tonks couldn't keep her eyes off the massive structure) a flash of light from within the cloud lit it up before quickly dying. Lightning. Considering that she was FLYING, that certainly wasn't a good sign at all.

Tonks dove back below the clouds (getting soaked again as she passed through the layer of cloud) to warn Andromeda about the lightning.

"MUM!! IT'S LOOKING REALLY BAD!! WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT TO VIENNA!!"

"NYMPHADORA, WE'RE GOING TO BE THERE VERY SOON! NOW CONCENTRATE OF DRIVING, THE WINDS' REALLY PICKING UP NOW! WE'LL BE OKAY, I PROMISE!" Andromeda replied with an even more strained shout. Tonks wished she could fly back above the clouds and weave in and out of the flock of swans again (she could vaguely see them landing on a lake that had just passed beneath her).

* * *

The race between Tonks, Andromeda, and the approaching front was a losing one for the travelers. Before they had a chance to make an emergency landing (Tonks had been pleading with her mother for an hour since she saw the swans land), the storm caught up with them, and hit in force. They visibility range was next to nothing, the rain was cold and hard, the wind was ten-times as fast as even before, and the fact that Andromeda and Tonks had to dodge lightning bolts as the same time made it even worse. The visibility made it too dangerous of them to land anywhere, so they had no choice but to fly on. Andromeda was surely regretting her choice now.

"TRY TO AVOID THE—"

"—WHAT, MUM?!?"

"DON'T GET CAUGHT IN THE—"

"—I CAN'T HEAR!!"

It was no use. Andromeda couldn't communicate with her child now. Andromeda squinted to make sure Tonks could still see her, and signaled with her arms as if to say "keep flying straight through!" Tonks nodded roughly and dipped her head low to provide minimal wind resistance.

For a solid hour, Andromeda and Tonks struggled to keep aloft long enough to spot a safe landing place down below. Tonks' thestral was nearly hit with an airbourne lightning strike and she nearly lost her life, along with Teddy's. This was when Andromeda decided that they could start their descent no matter where they were, as long as it was slow and steady.

"KEEP LOW, CHILD! KEEP LOW!" Andromeda called to Tonks as a sudden burst of particularly fast wind nailed them.

"WHAT?!" asked Tonks, keeping Teddy, who was sneezing and suffering again, beneath the cloak, which was nearly soaked down to the lining anyways, and therefore, didn't do much good.

"KEEP STEADY, OR ELSE WE'LL BLOW OFF COURSE!!"

Ha! As if they weren't off course enough. Andromeda predicted that they could possibly be as far off-course as central Germany or even Poland. The thestrals weren't flying anymore. Literally, it was the wind beneath their wings that kept Andromeda, Tonks, and Teddy aloft.

Andromeda squinted her eyes shut and prayed to her husband to help her family out "Ted, please be here for us and make this storm go away…"

Meanwhile, Tonks herself muttered a silent prayer to Remus to keep her and her mother and baby safe. "Remus, oh Remus, help us to safety! Please lead us out of this storm and guide us to a safe place! Help us! Help your wife and son!" But no sooner was the prayer spoken than a huge upburst of wind smashed into them. Tonks smartly bucked her thestral so the upburst wouldn't catch them. But Andromeda was thrown completely off guard. Tonks screamed and Andromeda and her thestral were swept high up into the clouds, out of sight of Tonks.

Gulping for any icy breath she could suck into her lungs, Tonks swallowed her fear and decided that while she didn't know what was below, it would be a hell of a lot better just to make a beeline for the ground. Tonks turned her thestral downward and began flying towards the ground. But another strong gust, more forceful than any gust yet (though not an upburst, like the one that had caught her mother), knocked Tonks completely off the thestral, which then took off to find safety on its' own.

But Tonks didn't fall straight down. The strong wind actually carried her with it as she tumbled over and over in the clouds. Teddy was screeching. Tonks was frightened and exhausted at the same time. She realized that this had to be it. This was going to be how she died. She and Teddy both. The moment the wind would let up, she and Teddy would fall to their deaths, if they weren't lucky enough to get hit by lightning beforehand. Tonks used her last bit of life to kiss her son's forehead in an apology for being as stupid as to taking him along on this horrendous journey.

Tonks felt her strength leave her, and she let herself go to the winds, still gripping naturally onto Teddy, nestled in her bosom. As she felt herself slip into unconsciousness, she heard a faint, masculine voice say "_Wingardium __Leviosa_!" Suddenly, Tonks' body felt weightless.

Out of her fading eyesight, she could see a silhouette of a male body with light hair (Tonks couldn't make out of it was strawberry blonde or light red) pointing a wand at her whilst riding a broom, casting the spell. Tonks squinted and felt the air leave her lungs.

"R…Remus?" she whispered airily. She really was dying, then.

Suddenly, the man on the broomstick let go of the spell just as Tonks felt something steady slip beneath her. Again, she could hear the beating of wings like that of her thestral.

But what she was on was no thestral. Turning her head weakly to the side, Tonks saw a huge mass of lizard-like scales and the face of what suspiciously looked like a dragon.

That last overwhelming image was what put her deep into unconsciousness.


	10. Do As the Romanians Do

_"__You never know when and where he might land, and what curse he'll deal first. But he wants me, Tonks. He won't try and hurt you first."_

_"He won't hurt you either," Tonks said back. "I'll make sure of it!" _

_"I trust you with my life," Remus said back._

_"A…are you afraid?" Tonks asked._

_"Yes. __Very much. __Afraid for you, and your mother, and Teddy.__ You need to be the one to get back to them safely when I…"_

_"I meant…are you afraid for yourself?" Tonks said. _

_"No. With you here with me, I'm not afraid at all. Like I said, I trust you, Dora."_

_

* * *

_

Tonks shot up, her heart racing, her mouth gasping for breath. The flashback seemed so real, so terrifying. This had been the worst one yet, bad enough to physically wake her up this time. Every night since the final battle at Hogwarts, Tonks had seen his eyes from behind her eyelids. They haunted her, knowing that he did, indeed, trust her with his life. And what had happened? She'd gotten knocked out cold by her own spell rebounding, leaving Remus vulnerable, and ultimately, in death's hand.

But all of this thought was quickly overruled by a new thought in Tonks' head. Where the hell was she? What had just happened.

Then she remembered…the young man on the broom who had broken her fall, the dragon that she had fallen onto…the violent storm, Teddy's sickly coughs, Andromeda being swept away in an updraft. Tonks thinking that she was dying when she thought she saw Remus on the broom, saving her.

Now Tonks was sitting safe and sound in a warm bed. The room was dimly lit and fairly large, yet simply furnished. A lamp beside the bed was on, and the window outside showed that the rain from the storm was still falling in sheets outside. She looked around. She must have been in the house of her mysterious savior. After all, she certainly wasn't dead if she was still breathing. The man on the broom couldn't have been Remus. But who was he, then?

On the nightstand by Tonks' bed was a small picture frame that gave a huge hint. It was a framed picture from a _Daily Prophet_ article with the Weasley family in Egypt, waving gleefully to the camera. Tonks quickly put two and two together. Weasleys, dragons, Eastern Europe…

"You're awake already? I'd have thought after the hell you'd just been through, you'd be out cold for a week!" said the (clearly redheaded) man who'd saved Tonks, coming into the room with a tray of tea and scones. Tonks smiled. The face was familiar enough. She'd gone to school with him.

"Charlie!" Tonks gasped lightly in surprise. "How did…why did…what?" was all she managed to say after identifying Charlie Weasley as her hero. Charlie smiled his youthful Weasley grin (he and his father had that in common) and set the tray down by the window.

"I'm afraid you'll have to answer my questions before I answer yours…" he grinned.

Tonks refused to take that for an answer. She denied him a grin back. "My mother? My son?" she squeaked out, surprised to find how weak her voice was. Her throat was dry and hurt whenever air passed through it.

"Both are here and safe. Your baby has one hell of a whooping cough, but I have Healer who's visiting from Vilnius taking care of him. Now, would you be so kind as to tell me what the bloody hell you were doing riding a thestral in the middle of a thunderstorm a thousand miles from England so soon after a war?" Charlie asked. Tonks crossed her arms and pouted her lips.

"You speak as if I was going for a joyride!" Tonks said. "Anyways, why I was there is none of your business!"

Charlie laughed. How could the man be so cheerful? After all, he'd lost a brother two weeks ago just as Tonks lost her husband! "Well, you were about to fall to your death, while I was chasing after a runaway Horntail and happen upon your mother flying about the wind current. I had Neilson take her back to the farm, then I saw you fall off a bucking thestral and went to make sure you were alright—"

"—who's Neilson?"

"A Finnish Crimson-Snout Dragon, one of only two here, the other being his mate, Amphitrite," answered Charlie. He poured some tea into a cup and handed it to Tonks. "It'll fix your strep-throat in an instant!" he promised. Tonks took a sip. The hot liquid was more than welcome in her throat.

"Thank you," Tonks nodded. "Where's my mother?"

Charlie looked out the window and paused a moment before answering. "She's a little shaken up, but she'll live. She's still sleeping in the room next door."

"So, we're in Romania?"

"The one and only!" Charlie said. Tonks snorted. So much for Vienna. "We're on the dragon farm I've been working on for a few years. Wonderful place when it's not raining like this. Summer time is mating season, and two of our Horntails are due to give birth in a few weeks. Should be exciting if you and your mother plan to stay around."

"Well, we don't," said Tonks coldly. Charlie gave her an odd look. "As soon as Mum and Teddy are alright, I'm afraid we have to be moving on!"

"Well, you'll have to keep going on foot, I'm afraid, if you insist on going forward that quickly," Charlie said. "Your thestrals are exhausted and dehydrated. They need at least a week for their strength to build up again."

"Wait…you can see them?" asked Tonks, curiously.

Charlie nodded. "I fought in the Battle, didn't I?"

Tonks nodded. Charlie sighed. "Well, Tonks, I find it interesting that you're asking so much about me, yet you yourself won't tell me anything about why you were out there yesterday!"

"Fine," Tonks groaned. But before she could begin her story, a short, squat little woman in a Healer's uniform appeared in the doorway and cleared her throat.

"Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Tonks is awake and asking for you," she said in a Cyrillic dialect Tonks couldn't really make out other than the mentioning of names.

Charlie answered back in the same language and turned to Tonks. "I have to attend to your mother, but don't think you're getting off so easily!" And with that, Charlie Weasley left the room.

Tonks flopped back down on the bed and quickly shut her eyes, hoping to go to sleep and wake up in her bed in England with Remus snoring away beside her.

Of course, after two weeks of hoping for the same thing, why should tonight be any different?

* * *

The smell of hot batter cooking on a griddle was what awoke Tonks next. She had to say, this sensation was much preferred to wake up to instead of the nightmares she'd been having. Finding her throat no longer aching and throbbing against her neck, Tonks was eager to get up and stretch, and it was when she was about to do so when she discovered the tender spot she had in her left lower back. It didn't paralyze her so much as it just made it awkward to walk with. Just the same, Tonks left the bedroom and followed the smell. She was led downstairs (this was a rather big house) into a large parlor, then from there into an even larger dining room, where, sure enough, cinnamon pancakes were being served. One long table divided the room in half, almost like if the four tables of Hogwarts had their own dining rooms. Andromeda was sitting and sipping a cup of tea and talking in Russian (since when did she know a Slavic language?) with a dark-haired woman. The table was about half-filled with people. Tonks wondered who they were.

Charlie saw her coming into the dining room as he set a plate of bacon on the table. He rushed to her side without a moment's notice.

"Good to see you feeling better," Charlie said.

"Who are these people?" Tonbks asked, pointing to the half-dozen or so other people sitting around the table.

"Oh, these are my colleagues in my dragon studies and research. They are the best witches and wizards in our field, and I am just a lowly rookie in their prescence!" Charlie said dramatically.

"Oh hush up, Charlie!" barked a loud girl with red-blonde hair and a hard American accent. "You're just as good as us!" Andromeda cringed at the girl's unique voice.

Charlie nodded at the girl, who had to be younger than Tonks. "This is Kelly Morton, from Queens, New York in the United States. She's only 18 and yet knows more about the mating patterns of dragons and their evolution over the centuries than anyone else in the field! She spent a few years studying at Beauxbatons before we recruited her."

"Pleased to meet you," Kelly said, nodding at Tonks. Tonks took a seat next to her while Charlie introduced everyone else. Andromeda smiled at Tonks comfortingly as she sat.

"This is Mayu Kawasaki from Hyogo, Japan," Charlie pointed at a petite, Oriental girl, who nodded silently. "She's excellent with dragon-related injuries. And Ngola Imbele from Senegal," Charlie nodded at a young black man with dreadlocks and a handsome face. "He's current on break right now from excavating for ancient dragon fossils in New Zealand, and he's a second cousin of Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Charlie kept going on like that for a short while, but Tonks zoned out, what with so much on her mind. She ate very little and spent most of her time in between thoughts about Teddy's illness and where she was to go from here. Great, they were already going to have to spend a solid week just…wandering around with dragons until their thestrals recovered. Stupid thestrals….supposedly built for long-distance travel…

"Tonks? Can you hear me?" Charlie made Tonks snap out of her haze. Everyone was gone now from the table. How long had she ben out of it?

"It's a nice warm day outside. We still need to talk about you and why you're this far south," Charlie said. Damn it, Tonks had hoped that he'd forgotten all about last night's awkward conversation.

Tonks looked up at him with a neutral face. "I would like to see my son first."

Charlie shook his head. "He's too contagious still, but the Lithuanian Healer spent all night with him. He's doing much better this morning, she assured me."

Tonks, seeing that she wouldn't be able to avoid talking to Charlie much longer, stood up and sighed. "Fine, but I'm tired of telling this story out loud, so pay attention…"

* * *

Indeed, the day was warm, but not hot. It was perfect. Tonks' story impressed Charlie greatly, and he personally admired her courage and strength along with the strength of her mother. Not that he wasn't always smitten by Tonks, because he was. Being the same age, right down to the same month, Charlie had always felt a small twinge of love for his friend. Of course, things got complicated with she began seeing his older brother, and then even more complicated when they broke up. Marrying Remus Lupin was possibly the most complicated part of all. Now that she was a widow at twenty-five years old, Charlie saw no chance. After all, she was traveling halfway around the world to see him again.

"So, Charlie, you and your dragon-studying friends all live in that house?" asked Tonks.

Charlie nodded. "For most of the year, it's a boardinghouse for us. Olga Kashyminova, the local girl, actually owns the house. But during the Christmas holiday, we'll all go to our respective parts of the world, except Kelly, of course. Because she was a foster child before she went to Beauxbatons, she usually goes to Japan with Mayu or to stay with old schoolmates in France."

"Sounds like a fun life."

"No, it's actually harder than you think. Many of the local Muggle village communities are ganging up on us, saying that those dragons must be destroyed as they will set their towns on fire, blah. blah, blah!" Charlie moaned. Tonks nodded.

"That's terrible," said Tonks. "Many people treated Remus that way."

"I'm sure he managed to pull through with a girl like you to keep him on his feet."

Tonks almost laughed. That wasn't exactly how things went. But she didn't say anything. "You're really loyal, too, seeing as you've risked your neck many times over in the past week alone just to see him again," Charlie said.

"It will give me closure," Tonks said, again resuming her unfeeling voice. Truth be told, that was only a one-hundreth of what she wanted this journey and reunion to bring her. "I never got a chance to say goodbye to him, and nor did Teddy."

Charlie didn't speak for a few moments, as if he was getting some idea. "Charlie?" asked Tonks, breaking the silence after a solid minute.

"Closure with a loved one. That's a very good point, Tonks," said Charlie. "That's why I've just decided to go with you to the Borderland."


	11. Questions in the Dark

"Like hell!" Andromeda yelled harshly, pacing Tonks' bedroom violently that evening. Charlie sat in a small rocking chair in the corner, looking like a small schoolboy being scolded by his Headmistress. Tonks sat on the bed, holding a very pale and sickly-looking Teddy in her arms, rocking his still body back and forth. He had been put under a deep sleeping spell by the Lithuanian Healer to help his recovery. "Nymphadora and I nearly broke our necks yesterday, and here you want to come along for the ride? Boys, they never grow up, do they?"

"Mrs. Tonks, clearly the two of you were in over your heads from the beginning," Charlie defended himself. "But a third would make the journey a little more secure. You'd have a little more protection for the babe," Charlie pointed at Teddy. Tonks didn't blink.

"But a third person means if we all get lost, then ANOTHER person gets lost with us! It's not worth the risk!" Andromeda said.

"Tonks will agree with me, you'll see," Charlie said, inching towards Tonks. She still kept silent.

"Don't you DARE turn my own daughter against me!" Andromeda snapped. "Honestly, one would think you were five years old and begging for candy! Nymphadora and I are a team. We're in this together…"

"But I can be completely useful to her baby. I can take a nice, smooth-riding dragon and carry him with me. Teddy will be safer on a dragon than on a thestral."

"Charlie, I don't think it's a good idea either," Tonks finally said. Charlie seemed a little surprised by her ruling.

"Tonks…really?" Charlie asked. Tonks nodded.

"Molly's lost a son already. I really don't want more sadness on anyone else's expense. If Mum and I go, at least if we never come back, there's no one left to cry after us. You have a whole family."

Charlie stared at Tonks a moment and nodded, much more moved by Tonks' reasoning than her mum's. He went to back out of the room. Just before he left, he spoke his final words of the night: "Fine. But you have a whole week here until your thestrals are healthy again. A week is long…"

And with that, Charlie shut the door, leaving Andromeda, Tonks, and Teddy in the silence.

* * *

_Tonks found herself barefoot, wandering around what looked like Hogwarts, only it was reduced to not much more than a ruin site. Her hair was longer than the length she'd been keeping it at since Remus' death, it was almost halfway down her thigh and nearly white, __it__ was as blonde as __Xenophilius__Lovegood's__ daughter's hair. Mist gathered at her feet and made it hard for her to see. She was alone. _

_The call of a thestral high above her made Tonks look up. The thestral was carrying Sirius on his back. Sirius stopped and waved at Tonks. Tonks waved back and tried to smile, but her lips were paralyzed in an indifferent pose. Sirius flew off towards the Black Lake and disappeared. _

_Where was __everybody,__ and why was Hogwarts in ruins? __Tonks felt her stomach flutter. As she put her hand on her stomach, she realized that she was pregnant (so…this was before Teddy was born, was it?). She didn't wear her usual robes. She wore a maternity dress that was in tatters. _

_Wait…she was still pregnant. That meant Remus was alive! She had to warn him…_

_Tonks picked up the pace and began racing down the labyrinth of wreckage, calling her husband's name as she ran. __"Remus?__REMUS!"__ But nothing answered her. _

_Tonks quickly felt winded, but her legs wouldn't stop. Suddenly, she saw Remus stumble into sight, his wand at the ready. Was that an owl on his shoulder? Yes, a baby owlet perched on Remus' left shoulder like a parrot or a pigeon. Remus was completely unscarred (Tonks had almost never seen him without some sort of scar on his face). Tonks smiled as Remus emerged from the wreckage. _

_"Remus, darling!__ Are you alright?" Tonks called. She tried to get to Remus, but it was as if some invisible barrier was keeping her from getting close to him. Remus stood on top of a pile of __stones,__ and Tonks couldn't approach the small hill. __"REMUS?__ CAN YOU HEAR ME?" she called. __"ARE YOU ALIVE?!"_

_Remus stared down at her and smiled. But he still said nothing. _

_Tonks tried again. __"REMUS!__ DON'T GO TO THE BATTLE OF HOGWARTS! YOU'LL GET KILLED!!" Tonks waited for another reply, none came. _

_Suddenly, Remus' form disappeared from the top of the small hill. Tonks felt her heart sink, when suddenly, a wolf appeared behind her and began charging at her. Tonks turned around but didn't run. The wolf ran between her legs, picking Tonks up and carrying her on his back as he ran. Tonks realized that this had to be Remus in his werewolf form. _

_The wolf carried the pregnant and disheveled Tonks out of the ruin and over a few hills into the dark, moonlit night. It finally decided to set her __down on a hill that reached high enough so that Tonks, in a standing position, was silhouetted against the full moon. The wolf morphed back into its' human form: Remus. Remus silently walked up to Tonks and affectionately placed a hand on her stomach. _

_"Remus, can you speak? Listen to me!" Tonks begged. "You can't—"_

_"—__shh__," Remus whispered, placing a gentle finger on her lip, silencing her. "Calm down, Dora. I'm here for you."_

_"Remus, there's going to be a big Battle at Hogwarts. You can't go. You will be killed," Tonks said in a much calmer tone. _

_"Dora, you're talking nonsense. You're not a Seer. How can you predict such an event?"_

_Tonks was confused. "__Remus, I know what I'm talking about!"_

_Remus shook his head. "I think you're eating too many pickled dipped in peanut butter, Dora, baby."_

_Tonks grew more confused. Remus never called her 'baby.' Nor did she ever eat pickles and peanut butter over the course of her pregnancy. Hell, she didn't even LIKE pickles! _

_"Remus, you have to trust me!"_

_"I do trust you, with my life," Remus said. _

_It suddenly occurred to Tonks. Remus wasn't alive, and therefore, he had no life to trust her with! So Remus didn't trust her at all._

_"Let him come with you," Remus suddenly said. Tonks blinked. _

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Charlie __Weasley__ is a nice lad. He fancies you too, Dora. Always has."_

_Tonks immediately shook her head. "I will never love anyone again, Remus. I vow that you will be my first and last and only."_

_"Charlie __Weasley__ is a knowledgeable man. He will be indispensable on your journey. Convince your mother to take him with you, and you will not be sorry." _

_Tonks shook her head again. "Remus, I can'__t!"_

_Remus laid a soft hand on her shoulder. "Do as I say, Dora. Charlie will be very important to you. Without him, your mother will die."_

_"What the bloody hell does THAT mean?" Tonks asked, on the border of completely frightened. _

_"Charlie must come with you, or you will not make it to the Borderland," Remus said. He suddenly looked up at the full moon, which was being covered by low, thick, dense clouds not unlike the clouds that Tonks had fallen through during the terrible storm. Tonks looked up too and suddenly felt chilly._

_She turned to face Remus again, but he was gone. _

* * *

Tonks woke up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat running down her face. The dream…it had not been a flashback, yet it had been twice as horrendous as any dream she'd had before. Not being able to go back to sleep, Tonks put on a dressing robe and decided to go for another late-night walk.

The path through the extensive grounds where the dragons were kept was so quiet. Not even the wind disrupted the silence tonight. The waning moon reassured Tonks that her dream hadn't been as real as it seemed after all. Yet she still felt the chills.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a rather loud and mournful call of a Horntail dragon. Tonks wanted to run back to the boardinghouse, but instead she ran towards the sound. It was coming from an illuminated barn about a quarter-of-a-mile down the path. Tonks ran to the barn and peered inside. Kelly Morton and Charlie Weasley were there with a Horntail, who looked in agony.

Tonks gasped. Kelly turned around and frowned.

"You shouldn't be in here," she warned. But Charlie turned around and smiled, shaking his head.

"No, Kelly, it's fine. Couldn't sleep?" Charlie asked. Tonks felt another chill run down her spine. Was Remus right when he said Charlie fancied her? Tonks didn't even WANT to think about it.

"What wrong with this dragon?" asked Tonks cautiously. Charlie turned to face the dragon, who seemed to be at a temporary ease.

"This is Anastasia, a female Horntail. Nothing's wrong with her, but she's gone into premature labor, and having a hard time with it too. Kelly called me out about an hour after I left you and your mother," Charlie explained.

"How terrible," Tonks said, wincing. She'd had somewhat of a hard and early delivery herself with Teddy and could somewhat feel Anastasia's pain. Remus' hand grasping hers was what made it a bit easier. Tonks remembered at one difficult point, Remus told her to break his hand if she needed to…

"Kelly, go get some hot water, Tonks, pull up a stool and stand by. This next contraction might do it," Charlie ordered, his voice very serious and business-like. Kelly dashed off and Tonks did as she was told.

"Charlie," Tonks asked softly.

"What?"

"I've been thinking, and maybe you should come with us," Tonks said. Charlie rose an eyebrow.

"Why the sudden change of mind?" he asked.

Tonks didn't want to tell Charlie about the abstract dream, so instead she just shrugged.

"Tonks, you know that it's not only your protection I'm worried about when I say I want to move on with you and your mother. I have someone waiting for me in the Himalayas, too."

Tonks suddenly saw Fred Weasley's face fly past her line of vision and understood. "Fred!"

Charlie nodded. "Seeing him again would give me the strength to deal with his death more than any picture or video or memory ever could."

"I feel the same way about Remus," Tonks sighed. "You really hurt that much over Fred? I mean, you rarely saw him, you were always off with your dragons!"

"Doesn't mean a thing if he was in England and I was in Romania. We're still a family, aren't we?"

"Were a family," corrected Tonks. Charlie shook his head.

"No, we still are a family. Fred's just in a different form now. He's in our memories. Same thing with Ted Tonks and Remus, they're not out of your family anymore. They're just within your hearts instead of physically standing beside you."

Tonks pondered over this pleasant thought silently after a moment. But again, the dragon cut those thoughts short as she screeched again. Kelly came rushing in with the hot water in two pails.

"This is it," Charlie warned. Kelly, get the water and the sheets ready. Tonks, sit by me and be ready to catch the baby…"

Tonks felt rather awkward sitting next to Charlie staring up a dragon's…well…private parts. But what happened in the next few moments happened in a single instant for Tonks. A large, scaly infant dragon fell out of his mother, into Charlie's and Tonks' arms and into the world with a short cry from his mother. Charlie and Kelly routinely cleaned the squirming baby dragon off (Tonks only watched in awe), declared it a male, and released it to Anastasia, who accepted him and began affectionately cleaning it off.

Once the baby dragon was in the care of his mother, Charlie turned to Kelly. "Go write this in the ledger," he ordered. "A baby male dragon was born to Anastasia, the Horntail from Belarus."

"What will we name him?" asked Kelly.

Charlie turned to Tonks and thought for a moment before turning back to give Kelly his answer. "Remus. The baby male dragon's name is Remus."

Tonks blushed and nearly cried as Kelly smiled and dashed out of the barn to record the birth. Charlie looked again at Tonks.

"You didn't have to…" Tonks began.

Charlie shook his head. "No, my pleasure. Mayu wanted to name him Mitsubishi, so it's really not a problem."

Tonks stifled a laugh. Charlie looked at her with seriousness. "You might want to go back to bed. It will be dawn soon, and knowing Kelly, instead of writing in the ledger, she's going to be waking the whole boardinghouse up to see the new baby."

Tonks nodded and quickly left the barn. She could hear Charlie yell after her, "Goodnight! Have a pleasant sleep!"

Tonks ignored Charlie and moved back towards the boardinghouse, knowing very well that she would not have a pleasant sleep.


	12. Andromeda Consents

"Wait, I thought dragons laid eggs?" asked Andromeda later that day. Tonks, her mind having been made up (Charlie posed quit the argument), had gone to Andromeda and asked her to go for a stroll through the fields where the dragons grazed. They sat in a closed-off backyard in the back of the boardinghouse. Tonks sat on a lawn chair in the sunshine. Andromeda was doing her normal pacing routine like when she always argued with her daughter. The day was warm and nice enough, but, as always, for Tonks and Andromeda, it could have been raining pigs and neither woman would give a damn.

"Charlie told me that most do, you know, Ridgebacks, Crimson-Snouts and such, but few people know that Horntails actually give birth live," Tonks informed her mother. Andromeda nodded.

"And you actually saw this Horntail have its' baby?" asked Andromeda.

"Yes," Tonks said. "Not the cleanest of events—"

Andromeda chuckled. "Well, Teddy didn't exactly come out of you clean as a whistle, and my dear Nymphadora, you were one of the messiest and most difficult births I've even witnessed or endured."

"I thought I was an only child?" Tonks asked, raising her eyebrow skeptically.

"Of course you are,' Andromeda said. "But I don't know if you remember, during the 13 years in between the Wars, I worked as a midwife to wizard mothers."

"I was too young to remember most of that," said Tonks.

"Hard to believe it was only a few years ago, actually."

Tonks nodded, fondly remembering those good-old days.

"But anyways, back to the point, Charlie Weasley, noble as his intentions are, can absolutely not, under ANY circumstances, come with us!" Andromeda snapped. She angrily whipped her head around, her pale brown hair (which was dry as a bone and lacked the luster it used to have long ago) fanned over her back in an almost perfect arc.

Tonks rolled her eyes and cleared her throat nervously. "Mum, I already presented an incredible argument on his behalf!" she protested. "Don't forget, he can see his brother! Would you deny him THAT because it's slightly more dangerous for four than it is for three?"

"Shouldn't you be with Teddy? He's still got that terrible cough," Andromeda said. "Instead, you fool around dragons with him, and I thought you said you'd never love again!"

Tonks paused. "I did, and I meant it. Mum, what are you implying after only two days here?"

Andromeda didn't answer her daughter. "Nymphadora, Teddy will be better earlier than expected, so we should be able to take off for Istanbul by Friday."

"What about our thestrals? Their still pretty pooped out. We are not leaving before Sunday," she said. "Mum, I really think Charlie should be able to come with us.

"Nymphadora, the subject is closed."

"Like hell it is," Tonks argued. "Mum, he clearly will NOT be a liability. There's no reason he should be, so why not take him with us?"

"He HAS his place here, I will NOT concern the lad with our personal affairs," Andromeda said. Tonks growled under her breath, something neither her father nor her mother ever did, but Sirius did so quite often.

"So this is a matter of pride, is it?" Tonks asked angrily. "You don't want anyone other than Teddy to see us humbled and worn out…"

"Nymphadora, you'd be wise to shut up, right now," said Andromeda with a harsh and almost threatening tone of voice. "He's already seen us humbled and worn out."

"Mum, it's been a fortnight since the final battle. We've been flying for a week and already we're so tired! I think it'd work to our advantage to have Charlie fly alongside us on a dragon—"

"—a DRAGON?! Good Merlin!" Andromeda gasped and sat down.

"He said he'd take along a Short-Horned Greenscale. They don't breathe fire, they are very gentle dragons, he assures me," Tonks said. "Plus, they're larger, so they'd certainly be more stable than thestrals. I'd be safer for Teddy too!"

"Nymphadora, really—"

"—plus, he knows this part of the world much better than we do. He knows a direct and easy path to Istanbul that can get us there in a day without any crosswinds or tight international borders to cross!"

Andromeda seemed to think a moment and turned to face her daughter again. "Do you think Molly Weasley would approve of us taking him along on such a dangerous trip? As grown up as he is, she is still his mother…"Tonks was ready to leap to another line of defense…when she realized, she didn't have any. Andromeda had pulled the mother-of-an-adult card. Damnit.

Tonks sighed and decided to at least try. "Mum, she doesn't have to know…"

Andromeda looked genuinely hurt. Tonks snapped her finger. Damn, wrong choice of words.

"He's grown up, like I am! We're not babies! When are you going to realize that?! Sure, you're my mum and Molly is his mum, but be that as it may, we've done so much for ourselves and we've endured so much on our own that I think sometimes, you need us more than we need you!"

Tonks stood up, finding her stride at last. Now she was flat-out pissed. Andromeda still looked pained. Tonks didn't buy it.

"If you're insisting that we continue on with just us next Monday, then you can go on alone, and Charlie and I will find our own path to the Himalayas."

Tonks turned her body and jumped over a section of fence, then ran out into the field to find Charlie, who was tending to a Crimson-Snout's egg this afternoon.

Andromeda just stood there, struggling to get over the initial shock of her daughter's rebellion.

* * *

Dinner that night was very quiet. Kelly was telling a story to Andromeda about a rare dragon she'd found in Zimbabwe a few weeks ago. Tonks ate in silence as the Lithuanian Healer told her about Teddy's improving condition and how he'd be well enough by the weekend to continue travel, although he'd still be weak.

Charlie wasn't there.

After about ten minutes, Tonks realized she couldn't eat, and she excused herself to find where Teddy was. She found him in a small, dark room at the end of the long hallway where the dragon-scientists stayed. There were two empty, neatly-made beds and a crib. Someone sat by the crib already.

Charlie turned at the sound of Tonks shuffling in. Charlie smiled.

"He doesn't look like you enough," he said. "I think the only thing he got from you was your unique power."

Tonks blushed mildly, but her facial expression, which was on the negative side of neutral, didn't change.

Charlie caressed the infant's cheek as he slept. His hair was a brighter green, rather than the sickly olive green from before. "He's not contagious anymore, which is a good sign."

Tonks sighed woefully and peered over the edge of the crib. "I'm putting him through so much just so he can see his Daddy again."

"Have you talked with your mother?"

Tonks nodded. "She's stone."

Charlie nodded, seemingly disheartened. "So I told her off," Tonks continued. "She can go find the river herself, and you can come along with Teddy and I."

Charlie shook his head. "No. You and your mother need each other more. I can't do it if it's going to tear you apart."

Tonks looked at Charlie. Charlie seemed very…well…awkward around her. Andromeda's words about Charlie fancying her echoed in her ear. Tonks almost threw up in her mouth with that thought in her head. Charlie was a nice bloke, but Tonks felt nothing for him back. She would never love again, regardless of what her dear old Mumsie said.

Charlie sighed and looked down at the sleeping baby again.

"He's not a werewolf?"

Tonks shook her head. "Nope. Remus was worried he would be. He does have the blood in him, though. During the full moon, his hair turns a little grey and it grows out a bit, only to shrink the next morning, but the Healers confirmed that he doesn't transform."

Charlie nodded. "I don't think werewolves are born, their made with a bite from another werewolf, right?"

"That's what I kept telling him. The Healer who delivered him insisted that it's impossible to genetically transmit a disease like lycanthropy from a father to a child, but he refused to listen. Even ran away when I first told him."

"What happened?"

"He came back after a week. He threw himself at my feet and kissed my hand like a sappy ass," Tonks recalled, almost chuckling. Then she grew serious again. "He never left my side after that."

Charlie nodded. "He sounds very loyal, for the most part."

"He died for me. Of course he was."

Charlie paused a beat before asking. "So, that's what happened? He was protecting you during the battle?"

Tonks bit her bottom lip, feeling a painful beat in her chest. Charlie gasped.

"I didn't mean t pry, Tonks. I am very sorry…"

"…you didn't mean to," Tonks said woefully. "I tried to convince Mum to allow you to come with us," she said, purposefully changing the subject.

Charlie caught on. "It's alright. I'm needed here still anyhow. With all the eggs and babies needing attendance, and Mayu in Japan for her friend's wedding—"

"—it's alright, Charlie. You may come," said Andromeda, who suddenly appeared in the doorway.

Tonks and Charlie turned their heads at the same time and gave her the same look of surprise.

"Mum?" asked Tonks.

"I am a stubborn woman, Charles Weasley. I would never allow you to come with us, and I forbid it still. But Nymphadora is just as stubborn, if not more, than I."

"Mrs. Tonks, it's not—"

Andromeda held up a hand to silence Charlie. "But I am going to consent to allow you to accompany us to Istanbul when we leave next week. If, by the time we reach Turkey, you prove yourself to be an asset to us, I may be convinced to allow you to go further."

Tonks looked from her mother to Charlie with a hopeful look.

"So be on your best behavior between now and Istanbul, Charlie," Andromeda warned, peering out of the end of her nose.

"Yes, ma'am!" Charlie said. Andromeda smiled very mildly, and then went to look into the crib.

"How is my grandson?"

"Doing much better," Charlie said. Andromeda nodded with a satisfied look.

"Good, very well. Very well." Andromeda then turned to leave the room. She then turned back to face only Tonks. "Please come to my room before you go to bed tonight?"

Tonks nodded silently. And with that, Andromeda left. Charlie looked at Tonks and grinned. "Wow, you really can work you mother over, can't you?"

Tonks shook her head and went to leave the room herself. "No more than Teddy could, actually."


	13. On To Istanbul

Teddy indeed recovered from his fight with Whooping Cough quickly, and the following Monday morning, Andromeda and Tonks prepared their thestrals, now recovered enough from the storm to be able to travel. However, Andromeda examined them herself and tsked out loud.

"What is it, Mum?" asked Tonks, packing a few food items into a basket she was taking with her.

"They won't be able to fly as far as I was hoping."

Tonks sighed. "Will they make it to Turkey?"

Andromeda nodded. "Yes, of course they will. But our trips will have to be significantly shorter, and closer to the ground too. "

Tonks nodded and picked up Teddy, who was lying on a small blanket, enjoying the morning sunshine. "Well, we won't need to make an extended stop in Cairo, as we've already had quite a break here."

Andromeda nodded. "Indeed. Well, I suppose after we spend the night in Istanbul, we could make it to Jordan in a day…now where is Charlie?"

Tonks looked around. Charlie was absent. Tonks bit her lip. She had specifically told Charlie to meet her and Andromeda for takeoff at 9:00 on the dot!

"We can't wait," said Andromeda. "The wind isn't going to be good for takeoff when it shifts."

Tonks nodded. "Well, I suppose….we should just…go on without him?"

Andromeda nodded. "Yes."

Tonks felt something in her chest drop. She's gone to great lengths to convince her mother to allow Charlie to string along, and now he was tardy. What a way to pay her back.

"Mum, you can take Teddy, then. Charlie said he'd pick out a nice steady dragon for him and Teddy to ride safely, on, but I guess—"

Suddenly, a rush of wind and a shadow cut Tonks off. The loud cry of a Short-Horned Greenscale dragon rang out in her ears. Looking up, Tonks saw the dragon spiraling through the air, flipping upside down and flying with the steady and grace of an airplane. Charlie Weasley rode on its' back, hollering and whooping with daredevil's delight as he showed off for Tonks. Tonks looked startled. Andromeda actually smiled a little bit at the corners of her mouth.

Charlie, after a few moments of his proud flight, landed the Greenscale about 30 feet away from Tonks and her thestral. He hopped off and ran with incredible energy over to the two women. Charlie beamed like a teenager on a flying motorbike.

Andromeda sniffed. "You honestly think I'm letting my grandson ride on that thing now after that…exquisite display?"

Charlie laughed, and Tonks looked a little nervous. "Just getting it out of my system, Mrs. Tonks. Let me see the little man, Tonks," he asked. Tonks passed the baby over to Charlie. Teddy's hair turned cotton-candy blue. Tonks sighed with relief. It was better that he liked Charlie ad trusted him rather than opposed and fought against him on the ride. Andromeda let out a small, insignificant grunt that Charlie somehow managed to hear anyways.

"Oh let me introduce you, Mrs. Tonks," Charlie said, motioning towards the dragon. Andromeda hesitated, but when Tonks decided to follow Charlie, Andromeda figured she had no choice.

The dragon didn't look at all dangerous to Tonks. But she did remain a little skeptical, for Teddy's sake. She knew Andromeda didn't disapprove of Charlie either, but it was all about the child.

Charlie smiled at the dragon as they came within inches of it. "This is Mashka." Charlie held Teddy securely, but closely to the dragon's big head. Tonks held her breath. Mashka sniffed, then let out a small bit of her tongue and caressed Teddy's face. Teddy giggled in delight. "Short-Horned Greenscales are remarkable. The females are incredibly maternal, even to those outside their species!"

Tonks looked at her mother. "I think she's lovely," she said, keeping her eyes on Andromeda. Andromeda looked at the dragon and inspected it visually for another second before nodding in agreement.

An awkward moment of silence ensued. Andromeda broke it. "Well, what are we waiting for? We have to be in Istanbul by sunset!"

* * *

Being up in the air after a week of resting actually was a sweet relief for Tonks. It meant she was once again growing closer to seeing Remus again. The happiness made Tonks change her hair length. While keeping it red (she still didn't know if the cruel French Aurors were chasing after her) she curled it and shortened the length to about the bottom of her shoulder blades. The air was warm and bright, and they were flying on a nice, tranquil sunny day, which made the feeling in Tonks' blood even better.

The trio flew in a formation, on the advice of Andromeda, only because she wanted to avoid another mess like before during the storm. For even though there weren't any clouds in sight, Andromeda couldn't help but feel a little nervous in case another wind came in unexpectedly. Tonks flew the highest in altitude and out front on her thestral, the fastest of the three. Charlie with Teddy on Mashka the Dragon flew a little lower and in the middle. Andromeda kept a middle-height and brought up the rear.

Most of the day was an eventless, steady trip. The sun kept the weather nice. No incidents or problems arose. Even some of the local birds flew with them for awhile, at least until Mashka began trying to get in on their little games, frightening the birds away. Tonks, while still not feeling what she would personally define as 'happy,' felt the most content that she had in a long time, possibly since before Remus' death. She could have sworn she could hear his voice in the wind as it brushed by her ears. Yes, it was! He was calling for her, and she was answering his call. He was only just beyond the horizon, waiting in the Himalayan Mountains for her!

Soon, it was getting close to dusk. So far, Charlie seemed to be keeping very steady with Teddy on Mashka. Looking over her shoulder, Tonks smiled to see Teddy asleep, nestled in Charlie's free arm. Charlie caught her looking and smiled back up at Tonks, winking. Tonks rolled her eyes and looked straight ahead again. Suddenly, a cluster of buildings and onion-shaped church roofs appeared out of the corner of Tonks' eye. She turned and called loudly to Charlie and Andromeda.

"There's Istanbul! We need to start our descent and land outside the city so the Muggles don't see Mashka!"

Charlie and Andromeda both gave Tonks a 'thumbs up' signal, and the three flyers began descending over Istanbul as the dusk sky turned red.

* * *

Once hiding Mashka and the thestrals was taken care of, the four travelers ventured into Istanbul for a hotel room. At Andromeda's insistence, Charlie got his own room, and Andromeda, Tonks, and Teddy got a room of their own. Andromeda ordered that tea be sent to both rooms, and then she took a long shower. Upon coming out of the bathroom, she sighed.

"Ugh, no matter how clear the day is, I always land and feel like I'm covered in dust!" she moaned, running a hand through her thick brown hair. Tonks nodded, rocking Teddy up and down in her lap.

"Mum, you have to admit Charlie was very good with Teddy today when we were in the air."

"So he was," Andromeda nodded. "Oh, I suppose we can let him go a little further with us."

Tonks smiled to herself and nodded. "I knew you'd see reason soon enough."

Andromeda ran another hand through her hair, as if she was combing it out with her long, bony fingers. "He's taken quite a liking to Teddy, and vice versa."

"Yes," Tonks agreed. "It's good that he does."

"Nymphadora," Andromeda began. "I can't help but think you should open your heart more to Charlie."

"Mum, what the hell do you mean?"

Andromeda sat down on the bed beside her daughter, and took teddy into her own arms. "Charlie's obviously smitten with you—"

"—but I'm not smitten with him, Mum."

"I'm just saying, don't rule out that one day…perhaps he might propose to you…and if he does, I would expect you to accept."

Tonks groaned and got to her feet, exasperated. "Haven't we already been through this?! Merlin! It's been a grand total of a MONTH and already you're trying to peddle a second husband on me! You're no better than Molly Weasley!"

"Nymphadora, try to understand! I just want to be sure you're taken care of and provided for!" Andromeda argued.

Tonks had to grit her teeth tightly together to prevent herself from yelling loud enough for the next door guests to hear. "Mum, we're GOING to see REMUS—"

"—YES! But we're NOT bringing him back with us!! For Merlin's sake, can't you realize that?!" Andromeda snapped. Tonks was silent. A sudden wave of realization came over her. It was true. She'd actually psyched herself into thinking she was going to RETRIEVE Remus and bring him back to the land of the living. Feeling a weight in her chest sinking down into her stomach, Tonks went over to the mirror and looked at herself. Her lower lip trembled at the sight of her. Her once curvy figure had melted into skin and bone. Her hair didn't look the same when it was red as it did when it was pink. She had huge bags under her eyes. She looked almost like a feminine form of the WANTED posters for Sirius when he was on the run (she never realized just how much like Sirius she looked). The trip wasn't even half over, and here she was, looking a good 15 years ahead of her time. What exactly was happening to her? What would Remus have to say?

Meanwhile, Andromeda realized what she'd just said to her daughter, and how distressed it made her. Seeing Tonks like this made Andromeda's stomach lurch forward. Andromeda put Teddy down on the bed and went to try and embrace Tonks, but Tonks shoved her mother away.

"Leave me ALONE!!" Tonks cried, tears pouring out of her eyes. How stupid could she have been? Keeping such a dumb fantasy that somehow making it to the Borderland was going to bring Remus back for good. She was going to miss out on so much with him! While still under this unfortunate illusion, Tonks had seen herself and Remus having a blast raising Teddy together: taking him to Quidditch games, consoling him when he gets his heart broken the first time, giggling when Remus attempted to give him 'the great sex talk,' convincing him that dental braces 'are just for awhile,' seeing him traveling off on the Hogwarts Express every September 1st…and none of this would happen now. And Tonks had sincerely thought it could.

"Nymphadora, just listen to—"

"—get away from me!" Tonks expressed forcefully, heading to the door.

Andromeda raised a thick eyebrow. "Where do you think you are going?"

"I'm…going home," Tonks said. Andromeda's eyes went wide.

"Surely you're joking!" Andromeda looked almost afraid that Tonks really was about to cave in.

Tonks shook her head, grabbing her knapsack from under her bed and quickly opening it to make sure all her belongings were still inside. "Mum, I can't live this lie anymore. It's not healthy. You were right all along, Mum. It's better just to face it. I DO need to face it. I need to face the facts and get home where Teddy and I belong…"

"After getting this far? And as I recall, YOU were the one who came up with the brilliant idea to take this little journey!" Andromeda said back. "I'm not going to have you backing out now, Nymphadora!"

"I don't care! You and Charlie can move on by yourselves! I just need to go home," Tonks said. She quickly left the room and gently shut the door behind her before her mother could say another word.


	14. The Workings of a Privileged Nosy Git

_**A/N: **__This is just a filler to explain Charlie's stand in all of this, and sorry for the long pause in updates. Enjoy anyways!_

* * *

Charlie loved Istanbul. He'd taken several vacations in which he didn't go back to England to travel with his fellow dragon-researchers to Turkey to experience culture. In the middle of summer, sunsets weren't until nine at night sometimes. And, they were almost always beautiful, silhouetting the onion domes of the ancient churches and mosques. So, Charlie had ordered two cheese sandwiches and a butterbeer and taken his dinner to the roof to watch the golden sun set in the direction of the west. He was just on a high right now. He was going to see his brother again, traveling with two wonderful women who were getting no less than they deserved: to see their husbands again after sacrificing so much for the Second War. He was experiencing something incredible: flying on a dragon to unknown territory, risking so much for what seemed like so little, but at the same time, seemed like the whole world.

The one problem was that he knew he wasn't the deserving one to be seeing Fred again. Somewhere in England, it was suppertime. Charlie knew that in England right now, George would be looking into his cup of tea and think of all the times he and his twin worked together to spike people's tea with their various experiments. He knew George was pining for his twin, his other half. And yet, why did Charlie, who Fred knew for the last half of his life as "the brother in Romania working with dragons," get the privilege? Before, Charlie had just seen Fred as a pesky little sibling. Charlie had no right to be the one going to the Borderland to see him again.

Charlie knew that it wasn't for no reason he got the honor. He decided to make the most of this journey that the Tonks women were giving him. It was a gift. If there was anything the Second War had taught Charlie, it was that every day was a gift. Sappy moral, true. But it got the job done.

Pondering this thought, Charlie took a bite of his cheese sandwich. But before he could swallow, he heard a door open and slam shut from below on the ground (the small Wizarding hotel was only 2 stories high, he could easily see and hear what was below). Charlie curiously leaned over to see who was slamming doors. He was surprised to see Tonks, knapsack slung over her shoulder, causally walking out the door. Her face was tear-stained and red. Neither Andromeda nor Teddy were in sight. Charlie smiled. Tonks, Tonks, Tonks. The girl who'd made him feel so much good and bad in his heart, and didn't even know it. She looked on both sides of her casually before walking on.

Charlie opted to quickly abandon his meal and dash back downstairs and out of the hotel to see where Tonks was planning on going. When he got out onto the street a few seconds later, he caught a glimpse of her reddish-colored hair walking southbound on a street with a few natives walking around, mainly teenagers enjoying the twilight hour.

Charlie was constantly worried that his crush on Tonks was transparently exposed for the whole world to see. It had begun what seemed like so long ago. It was during their final two years at Hogwarts. Of course, they only knew each other in passing, as Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs only shared Herbology and Arithmancy classes. But Charlie loved her spunky sense of fun and hr whimsical clumsiness. All of his friends felt he was mental, liking a girl he barely knew. But Tonks was nice to him when they did speak. She once confided in him her dream of being a star Auror, and he, in turn, revealed his obsession with dragons and his plans to move to Romania to work with them.

Then, of course, after they graduated and went their separate ways, Charlie felt he might as well move on. They'd never had anything during school, and what were the odds they'd ever see each other again? Charlie had to prepare to leave for Romania, and Tonks had to begin her Auror training, after she received all the N.E.W.T.s she needed on the first try (which surprised her, as she'd had some trouble in Potions and Defense that year). But then, during the holiday, Charlie, who wasn't departing until spring, got the shock of his life when Bill came in with 'a new girlfriend.' That girlfriend, of course, was Tonks. Charlie didn't know what to feel. At first, he was pissed out of his mind. Bill was the 'hotter' older brother, with his long hair and rock-star style. Naturally, Tonks would go for him.

But what pissed him off more was the fact that while Charlie was clearly displeased with the pairing, every other Weasley was. Young Ginny, who was ten at the time, was delighted by the shape-shifting woman. Fred and George were quite interested to hear about her scheming adventures during the years before they began at Hogwarts. Molly was delighted, always claiming that she smelled marriage in the air for them. Bill was always so open about their 'love' for each other too. Charlie had been the first person Bill told when he and Tonks had sex for the first time. It'd been the first time for Bill as well as Tonks(which surprised Charlie to find out and he wondered if maybe Bill was lying). Hearing the details made Charlie not only cringe, but feel the anger and boiling blood within him. How was it Bill got everything, including Tonks?

Then, when Bill announced that he and Tonks had decided to go their separate paths, and that while she was concentrating on training, he was going to Egypt to work at their Gringotts bank, nobody in the family could understand why Charlie almost seemed 'pleased' by the news. But he never saw Tonks after that until the Order reunited and he and Tonks were formally inducted, along with Bill. But by then, it was again too late. Tonks had already fallen for Remus Lupin, who married her and fathered her child. Luckily, this time, Charlie had come to accept the emotional dealings. Then, of course, another curveball was shot at him when Tonks was widowed and, quite literally, fell out of the sky into his life again.

Following her now, Charlie couldn't help but notice her unnaturally quick pace (he had to almost run to keep up with her). He wanted to catch up with her. The sky grew darker, and many of the streetlights came on, making the shadows and angles hard for Charlie to track Tonks by. Finally, he had to call out. Maybe he could make her stop?

"TONKS!" Charlie called, somewhat awkwardly. "TONKS! WAIT FOR ME!"

Tonks flipped her head around and found Charlie in the crowd. She quickly stopped, an odd look on her face. She seemed to mouth something, but Charlie couldn't decipher it. Instead, he just ran to catch up to her, almost knocking over and elderly women, who scolded him in Turkish before moving on, flustered. He finally reached Tonks, who stood outside what looked like a Muggle music store.

"Tonks, where are you headed?" Charlie asked.

"Home," said Tonks, quickly blankly. Charlie then understood the sadness in her eyes. "I'm not moving on with you."

Charlie almost didn't know what to say next. "W..what? Why?"

"I saw the light tonight, Charlie," she answered. "I realize that this has all been a useless, hopeless dream, and that seeing Remus' and my father's ghosts in the Himalayas would be more painful than it would be helpful. There's no point in dwindling in the past. I have a son to raise on my own, and a job as an Auror to go back to, so I might as well face reality and grow up."

"Grow up?!" Charlie asked, a hint of worry and concern in his voice. "Tonks…am I hearing you right?"

"Looking back on this past year alone, I realize how childish and stupid I am, and this trip finally proved it to me. I fell in love with Remus, who was in his third year at Hogwarts when I was BORN, and no matter how much he tried to convince me that we would only end up hurting each other, I ignored him, and I pushed on! And I finally had him cave and become my husband. But he had been right, Charlie. Sometimes I wondered if Remus only died for me because he felt he'd been wrong in marrying and impregnating me, and he felt he OWED it to me to die for me. But…but I'm right now. I do need to grow up."

"I still don't follow where you're going with this," Charlie said.

"I've been risking my son's and mother's life for an illusion. I've been living under the idea this whole time that if, by some MIRACLE, I find the Borderland, I could bring Remus back WITH me, when I very well can't!" Tonks moaned. "Lately, I've been wondering if miracles even exist anymore, or if they all died with him."

Charlie actually gasped at this. "Tonks? You can't really mean that! It's a miracle that you're here right now! I mean, Dolohov could have easily killed you while you were lying there unconscious after he did Remus in! Teddy could easily be an infant orphan like Harry Potter was! The French Aurors could easily have locked you away for life! You and your Mum could have easily been killed in that storm! Yet, here you are, alive, well, and on a journey to accomplish what millions of widows around the world would sell their souls to do…see your deceased loved one again. And you're pushing all that aside in order to 'grow up'?"

Tonks looked at Charlie, hurt. "You're extremely nosy. Please go back to the hotel."

"Are you Apparating home?"

"I'm too tired to Apparate. I'm going to send a Patronus to Arthur Weasley and ask him to fly the car down here."

"He'll take days to get here," Charlie said. "What do you plan to do until then?"

"Wait," was Tonks' meager answer.

"Not to mention, you're in such bad spirits now, how can you possibly expect to make a decent enough Patronus to travel thousands of miles with a message if you can barely even make a smile?" Charlie asked.

Tonks looked around. She had half a mind to SHOW Charlie what kind of Patronus she could make right now, but there seemed to be too many Muggles on the street right now, and it would be unwise and unsafe. She was cornered.

Charlie lightly patted her shoulder. "And, if for nothing else, please continue the journey for my sake. It took a damn lot of convincing your Mum to allow me to come along. If you drop out now, Andromeda's going to abandon me here and follow you right home."

"You think so?" asked Tonks.

"She's as stubborn as her sisters," Charlie noted. "She will. And I should think that the prospect of seeing Remus, Fred, Sirius, and Ted again should be more than enough to give you the strength to move forward!"

Tonks looked down at her feet, then up at Charlie again, silent.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Remus awaits you and Teddy," he said. Tonks bit her lip and turned her gaze back to the sidewalk. After what seemed like ages, she nodded and looked into Charlie's eyes again.

"Fine," Tonks consented, dropping her shoulders and letting her knapsack drop with her arm. "You've convinced me, you nosy git."

Charlie laughed casually upon hearing this, rolling his eyes up to the sky and putting his hands in his pocket.

But when he looked back at Tonks, he could plainly see what she was not smiling or laughing. She was entirely serious.


	15. Fallen Thestral

The next morning, Andromeda was somewhat surprised when she awoke to find Tonks curled up in the bed next to her, her hair, long, curly, and red, fanned out on the pillow. Andromeda gently leaned down to her daughter's ear and whispered, "I thought you'd be back at Grimmauld Place by now," she whispered. Tonks moaned.

"Five more minutes," she whispered back. Andromeda smiled. Tonks was always a heavy sleeper, just like a teenager.

"I'll make some breakfast tea," she said, going over to the hot pot provided by the room and filling it with water from the bathroom sink. Andromeda grinned to herself. She half-expected Tonks to come back all along. The only question on her mind was how she was convinced to do so. But in the end, Andromeda decided not to pry. They had a long journey ahead of them today, their longest yet if they stayed on course.

A knock on the door startled Andromeda and almost completely brought her out of her tranquil state of mind. Going to answer it, Andromeda quickly shoved a bathrobe at Tonks. "Nymphadora, up! You slug!" she moaned. Clearly her father's daughter. Ted would be in bed until noon on some days, which annoyed Andromeda to no end.

Tonks shot up and groaned, taking the bathrobe, slipping it on, and going into the bathroom for a shower, closing the door behind her. Andromeda opened the door to see Charlie in the hallway. Andromeda smiled. "Yes?"

"Did she come back last night after I—? I mean, she didn't come back WITH—"

Andromeda smiled and understood immediately. She gestured to the far bed, and Charlie noted its' unmade appearance. He smiled. Andromeda licked her lip. The constant change in climate was really drying her lips and skin. "I'm making tea before we go, if you'd like some."

"No thank you," said Charlie. "I was just downstairs and had some in the dining room." Andromeda invited Charlie in. He could hear the faint sound of running water. Looking over at Teddy, Charlie noted his hair was a vivid orange for some reason today. Andromeda had fashioned the chaise longue into a surrogate crib, and Teddy was lying in it, fingering the fabric.

"Hope you had plenty to eat," Andromeda warned. "We've got no time for pit stops today."

"Where are we going?" asked Charlie patting Teddy on the head rather roughly. Teddy looked a little annoyed, and his hair faded ever so slightly.

"Aktas," announced Andromeda. "It's a small village in Kazakhstan, wizard-only. We'll be able to make it by twilight IF we keep up a constant speed and fly high. The winds are favorable and light, so we've got as good a chance as ever." Charlie nodded. Andromeda continued. "If we keep the same formation we had yesterday, and have Nymphadora send up sparks every few hours or so—"

The bathroom door opened, and a burst of steam filled the room. Tonks' distinctive voice could be heard. "Mum, why are there no towels?"

The steam quickly cleared, and Tonks emerged from the steam bare naked, dripping wet. Charlie wanted so hard to look away, but the testosterone in him refused him that wish, and his eyes remained fixed. Tonks didn't seem to notice him sitting there, staring at her, at least for a moment.

But, funny thing was, even when she did find him, she didn't bother covering up. Rolling her eyes, Tonks groaned. "Mum, you could have TOLD me!"

Charlie's jaw hung halfway to the floor. Tonks was seriously wet and naked, standing full-frontal right in front of him. Have of him wanted to shove Andromeda and Teddy out of the room and lock the door. The other half was thanking Merlin that Remus wasn't here. If he was, he'd have been kicking Charlie's ass from here to Aktas.

"For goodness sakes, Nymphadora!" Andromeda said, her voice high-pitched, embarrassed on Tonks' behalf. "Cover up!" She took off her own bathrobe, revealing that she was already fully-dressed underneath it anyways, and shoved it at Tonks, who put it on. Charlie felt like he'd just been broken off from a hypnotic wavelength.

"Oh, he's a man! It's not like he wasn't perverted like every other man in school and looked at dirty magazines!" Tonks said. "Besides, it's not like I have a terrible growth on my ass."

"Oh, its' true," said Charlie, sweating and red, embarrassed out of his mind. He could barely stutter. "I was just like all the other boys at Hogwarts, I look at those magazines all the—"

Oops. Charlie wanted to smack himself when he looked at the looks on both women's faces. That was NOT the right choice of words at all! He should have just said nothing.

Andromeda whistled. "Well, why don't we go round up Mashka and the thestrals and leave Istanbul before this awkward scene gets any worse, shall we?"

Charlie blushed. Teddy's hair suddenly got brighter and brighter until it could've glowed.

* * *

Up until about noon, the flight was completely eventless. It was certainly a breath of fresh air for Tonks, who slowly got over her fit last night and decided to do what Charlie said: to make the best of what she was given. The opportunity put before her, while in the end wouldn't do much, would help ease her mind now. And Aktas WAS their halfway point!

They flew over desert under a hot sun now. It wasn't necessarily sandy desert like Tonks would've initially imagined, but a lot of the terrain was rock and gorge. There was some sandy dunes here and there, and every few hours the trio flew over a small oasis or a small camp of gypsies or nomadic herders. But for the most part, there wasn't much to see, so flying higher didn't come with much loss. Every two hours, Andromeda instructed Tonks to send up sparks (her being highest and in front like yesterday) to see if any wizards were nearby. Once, she had gotten orange sparks, meaning a few wizards were about. This had to be done because they were all in clear daylight, and any Muggles seeing them would be disastrous. Of course, none were seen all day other than the occasional tribe, and none of them even seemed interested in looking up.

The noon hour was almost unbearable as far as heat went. The little breeze there was didn't do much good for cooling the travelers down. Charlie wrapped Teddy in a blanket to keep him from getting burned. Tonks lightened her red hair to a strawberry blonde so the sun wouldn't absorb the heat so much, as well as shortening and thinning it several inches. Andromeda took off her black traveling cloak and only used the hood as a tool to keep the sun out of her eyes.

Tonks looked ahead of her. A small island-like oasis was appearing above the horizon, about a mile or so away, and it looked like a few palm trees surrounding a small lake or pond, nothing more…

Suddenly, Tonks heard a loud, unbearable yell from behind her. It was Andromeda's thestral. He'd suddenly lost control and begun diving headfirst towards the ground. Tonks yelled as her own thestral, startled, began flying down to chase after it. Charlie drove Mashka just in time to catch Andromeda on its' back, and he took them safely to where the fallen thestral had landed. Tonks' thestral didn't land so easily. Seemingly frantic, Tonks had to dive off before she was smashed, and she managed to land on a softer pile of sand. Having landed several feet away from the rest, she got to her feet (her ankle was twisted, she walked limping on the right now) and headed over to where Charlie, Andromeda (who was alright) and Tonks' thestral were gathered around the fallen one, which was writhing on the ground in agony. Mashka was standing off to the side, out of the way.

Charlie was examining the thestral. Andromeda looked at Tonks, concerned. "Are you okay?"

Tonks nodded. "I think my ankle is twisted, but I'll live," Tonks answered. Charlie looked at Andromeda. Tonks noticed that the thestral wasn't writhing anymore.

"He's dead," he said.

"What? Why?" Andromeda asked, a little alarm in her voice.

"I'm not a thestral expert, Mrs. Tonks," Charlie said. "If I had to guess, I'd say heat stroke or heart attack."

Tonks put a hand over her mouth. Her thestral suddenly began calling out with that awful noise she'd heard in the air.

Andromeda let a few tears escape from her eyes, but then she regained her composure and turned to her daughter.

"Well, no use mourning. This will put us behind schedule. I can ride on Mashka, right, Charlie?"

Charlie nodded. "It will be a close fit, but sure." Everyone took another brief look at the dead thestral and then got themselves together. Charlie, Teddy, and Andromeda mounted Mashka, who dutifully got ready for takeoff, but when Tonks made an attempt to mount her thestral, she was just bucked right off, and her thestral ran back to her companion's side. Tonks tumbled right back to the ground. Only this time, there was no sand to break her fall, and she landed on rock instead.

Tonks brushed herself off and got to her feet, wincing. That certainly didn't make her ankle much better. Andromeda hopped off Mashka and ran to Tonks' side.

"Nymphadora!"

"Mum, what…why? She won't let me ride her!" Tonks said, puzzled.

Andromeda thought a moment. "Well, they WERE mates, you know."

Tonks automatically understood where her thestral was coming from. She looked back to Teddy, Charlie, and Mashka. "There's no way Mashka can carry all of us to Aktas!"

Andromeda shook her head. "Indeed not."

They ventured over to Charlie. Andromeda explained. "She won't fly, it's impossible."

Charlie thought a moment. "I have an idea. Tonks and Teddy will stay behind. They can stay in the oasis over there for the afternoon, where there's water and shade—"

"—leave my daughter and grandson behind? Like hell, Charlie. I thought you were smart!" Andromeda spat.

"Let me finish, Mrs. Tonks," said Charlie assertively. "You and I will carry on to Aktas, then you can Apparate to the oasis and side-by-side Apparate Tonks and Teddy back in seconds!"

Andromeda turned to Tonks. "Nymphadora? What say you?"

Tonks nodded quickly. "What choice do we have?"

"True, very true," Andromeda nodded. She looked up at Charlie. "Well, meet us at the Oasis. If I'm Apparating there, I'll have to familiarize myself with it first…"

It was a moderate walk over to the oasis. It was big enough. Not huge, but about the size of the block that 12 Grimmauld Place sat on. A small, clear pond with cool water sat underneath a small grove of palm trees that seemed to bear some kind of fruit that looked unfamiliar to Tonks. But they were green anyways, so they probably weren't ripe just yet. Andromeda took some mental notes about the oasis and where it was located, then went to Tonks, who was holding Teddy and sitting on a large brown rock sitting above the pond. She had taken her shoes off and was dipping her tired feet in the water.

"You'll be alright?" asked Andromeda. Tonks nodded.

"It's only for the afternoon, right?"

Andromeda nodded. "Hopefully, because it's only Mashka, we'll be there by sunset. So I'll be back to you just after dark."

"Yes, mum."

"Take care of Teddy," Andromeda said, patting her grandchild's head. He was fast asleep. Apparently the heat had tired him out too.

"As if I won't," Tonks replied. "I'm sleepy, so we'll probably just nap, the two of us."

"And if there's any trouble, just send a Patronus after me, okay?" Andromeda instructed.

"Mum, you'd better get a move on!" Tonks said. Andromeda nodded. She gave Tonks one more worried look and turned to go. Through the small grove of palms, Tonks could see Charlie giving her a small, playful salute as he helped Andromeda onto Mashka and prepared for takeoff.

Andromeda called one more time. "If there's a problem, I'll just fly back on Mashka and send blue sparks ahead of me, alright?!"

Tonks rolled her eyes. The woman was relentless. She waved with the hand that wasn't holding her son as Mashka flew off toward Aktas.

Tonks didn't know why her mother seemed so worried. This was an empty oasis in the middle of nowhere. What could possibly go wrong?


	16. A Mother's White Cow

Hours passed. Many more seemed to pass. As a matter of fact, it was as if ages passed over that little oasis before Tonks' eyes. There wasn't much to do. Teddy had fallen asleep to the lazy afternoon breeze. Tonks placed him on a small bed of soft grass to snooze while she stripped down and swam around in the small pond nearby. The water was surprisingly cool. Nothing swam in it. The water wasn't much deeper than Tonks' chest, so she just floated on the surface and stared up through the palm leaves and into the crystal blue sky. The afternoon was tranquil, and it managed to calm Tonks' nerves. Aktas meant they she was more than halfway done with her journey. All she needed to do wait for was Andromeda Apparating back to retrieve her.

Once Tonks' fingers began to get wrinkled, she got out from the pond and redressed. It suddenly occurred to her that she had her wand.

"I'm starving," she muttered to Teddy, still dozing drowsily in the wad of tall grass. She took out her wand and pointed at the tree the bore the strange green fruit. "Accio!"

A single fruit then fell from the tree right into her hand. Tonks observed it and opened the shell, skin, or whatever the hell was covering it. Just as she had originally thought, it wasn't ripe. It was hard and sour. Tonks spit it out and threw it aside.

"Damn!" she whispered. Oh well. The oasis was getting darker as the shadows got longer. The sun was beginning to set. Tonks estimated it was coming on eight at night at their destination in Aktas. Andromeda, Charlie, and Mashka would be ready for touchdown at any moment.

But another two hours passed. The sky was a much deeper purple now. Tonks needed some light. Where was her mother?!

"_Flagrate_!" Tonks whispered. She began drawing shapes and words for Teddy to gaze at out of the fire spurting from her wand. She doodled for a moment before she heard a shrill noise that made her jump to her feet.

It sounded like a war cry. Panicking, Tonks immediately tried to reach for Teddy. But it was dark, where was he? Why couldn't she find him? Tonks prayed for Teddy to start crying at the sudden sounds, but Teddy remained silent as stone.

The noise grew louder. Tonks began sweating as she could see, silhouettes against the dim light, at least two dozen figures, and several other unidentifiable objects bolting at them at full-speed. Tonks gritted her teeth. If only she could find Teddy, she could Apparate back to Istanbul, or send a Patronus.

No, there was no time now for a Patronus! Heck, there wasn't even time for her to look for her shoes! Tonks shot red distress sparks high up into the air. The tribe of people closing in on her were genuinely startled by this. They had to be a Muggle tribe. Tonks got to her knees and kept feeling around for her son, trying desperately to grab hold of him.

But within the next five seconds, so much happened. Tonks felt herself being shoved to her feet as a rather muscular man grabbed her wrists and grabbed the wand from her hand. Managing to grab it back reflexively and shove it out of sight, the somewhat bewildered man wrenched her arm tighter, and Tonks felt her shoulder snap. She heard a baby's cry. Teddy!

The tribe wasn't just men, but women carrying their own children, and the other shapes had been carts and animals they herded with them. But Tonks didn't give a damn as of now. She just wanted this to be a dream.

Tonks screamed as the tribe of nomads surrounded any way out of the oasis. She'd been taken captive. Oh, for her mother to Apparate in this very moment!

But she did not. Instead, the most decorated tribal man (was he their chief…king…leader?) stepped forward and looked at Tonks. His face was half-curious, half-malicious. Tonks stared back with horror. He then turned to Teddy, writhing in the arms of another man, his hair gone from blue to red, he looked like he was fighting as much as crying.

Tonks' heart was racing as the chief spoke. She didn't understand the language, but his voice was fierce and strong.

Tonks really wished she knew what he was saying, but she didn't understand. This was probably some version of Arabic.

Interrupting, Tonks desperately shrieked. "TEDDY! MY SON! GIVE HIM TOO ME!"

But two of the men thrust what looked like old, rusty guns at her, and Tonks remained still as the leader of the tribe spoke again. Teddy cried in turn for his mother. Another armed man pointed a gun at teddy. Tonks couldn't help but gasp. Threatening a baby was terrible!

The man's speech seemed to go on for a long time, but after a second or two more, he snapped his fingers and motioned. Tonks was dragged on with the tribe, out fo the Oasis and out into the dark desert.

Her first thought was that she could easily Apparate back to the oasis, or even to the safety of that small hotel in Istanbul. But she could never leave Teddy behind. She would rather die herself for her son than leave him behind with these malicious nomads.

So Tonks stopped dragging her feet and moving forward out of her own free will while her brain desperately scrambled to think of a plan…

* * *

"You know, I should have thought before that no one in Aktas would be speaking English," Andromeda scoffed as she and Charlie struggled to communicate with the woman sitting at the desk in the small boardinghouse in Aktas. It was almost ten at night, and they needed a room.

"Not to mention that sandstorm we passed through was terrible. Knocked up two full hours off schedule. I hope Tonks is holding out back at the Oasis," Charlie murmured. "Why don't you go get her now, Mrs. Tonks?"

Andromeda nodded. "Another minute. We need to make sure we have a room first. Charlie, do you speak Arabic?"

Charlie shook his head. "I can barely speak articulate Slavic, ma'am, and I've lived in Romania for seven years."

Andromeda nodded, frustrated. She quickly pointed at the nearest sign and gestured at the woman to understand.

The woman nodded and pointed, just as frustrated, at the toilet off to the left of the small desk. Andromeda smacked her forehead. Charlie leaned in close and whispered in Andromeda's ear.

"Mrs. Tonks, I think that mean bathroom—"

"—for Merlin's sake, I KNOW!!" yelled Andromeda.

Charlie patted her back. "Why don't you go collect Tonks and Teddy, and I'll see what I can do for us, okay?"

Andromeda groaned and squinted her eyes shut, picturing very clearly the oasis where Tonks was staying, and quickly Disapparated with a very loud _crack!_

Charlie turned back to the woman at the desk and began making weird gestures with his body, trying to sign "Room, here, please." He wasn't having luck.

He only turned around when he heard a small giggle from behind him. A little girl, no more than eleven or twelve years old, was standing behind him, smiling up at his odd body movements.

"Sir, are you trying to dance like they do in America?" she asked, her English, while heavily accented, was still articulate.

Charlie quickly stopped moving and coolly brushed his hair back. "Actually, I'm British."

"Do you need help getting a room? My mother knows not English very well," said the girl.

Charlie looked utterly relieved. "Yes, thank you. I'm Charlie."

"My name is Nabihah," said the girl. "Is it just you that needs a room?"

Charlie shook his head. "Three others. Two grown women and a baby boy."

Nabihah nodded and turned to her mother. They carried a conversation back and forth for a few moments before Nabihah turned back to Charlie. "Are all four of you magical?"

"Yes," Charlie said. Nabihah then spoke with her mother for a few more minutes. Soon, the woman behind the desk searched for a key and handed it to Charlie and spoke a little more. Nabihah translated.

"Would you prefer our House Elf delivers your meals, or will you come to the dining room?"

"We're only going to be here a night," Charlie said. "We can come down to the dining room for breakfast, thank you."

After a few more seconds of talk, Nabihah smiled and nodded at Charlie. "My mother says that you are most welcome and she is sorry for the confusion. Her name is Samah and if you need anything, you may call for her or I to come and assist you when your guests arrive. Although I HIGHLY recommend you call on me—"

Nabihah was interrupted when a loud _crack!_rang out throughout the small lobby of the boardinghouse. Andromeda reappeared after a second. But neither Tonks nor Teddy was with her. Her face was red, and she was clearly in a panic. Charlie's face altered when he saw Andromeda worried and alone.

Andromeda ran up to Tonks and shook her shoulders, nearly knocking little Nabihah off her feet. "Charlie! Charlie! She wasn't there! Her or Teddy! I sent up sparks like mad, but there was no reply! Then I saw her shoes!"

"Shoes?" Charlie asked.

"Nymphadora's boots were there, but she wasn't! Charlie, I think they've been kidnapped! I think they're in trouble!"

"Send a Patronus after her! They find their targets no matter where they are, and ask her to send one back!" Charlie suggested. Andromeda nodded, trying to breathe deeply. She took out her wand and went to open the door so the Patronus would have a clear shot at Tonks.

"Nymphadora! Are you and Teddy safe? Please reply back via Patronus so I can come find you…" Andromeda waved, and a large white cow jumped out of her wand, hovered for a moment, then flew out the window into the night.

* * *

It was undoubtedly close to midnight. Tonks' nerves were getting the best of her. Were they cannibals? Or were they going to kill her and Teddy? The Muggle tribe had forced her to walk for three hours straight before they stopped for the night and set up a few tents as a camp. Tonks was bound at the hands and feet by rope and tied to a post outside the chief's tent. Tonks couldn't take her eyes off her son, who was passed to one of the women of the tribe and taken into a nearby tent. Tonks knew that once the tribe went to bed, she could reach her wand and break the ropes, quickly steal back Teddy, and Apparate elsewhere. But they didn't go to sleep like Tonks had hoped. After camp was set up, they all built three fires and made circles around them and just…talked in Arabic. Tonks knew as long as they remained awake, she couldn't do anything.

Andromeda must have been to the oasis, panicked, had a heart attack, and died by now. Sighing, Tonks kept her eye on the tent where the woman had taken Teddy. What seemed like a few more hours passed slowly by, and Tonks was beginning to lose hope that these people never slept. Or worse, they slept in shifts so that the camp was never fully sleeping.

Tonks found herself beginning to dose off herself. But before she managed to close her eyelids, a bright white thing pranced into the camp, nearly blinding Tonks and scaring the wit out of the tribe. Tonks couldn't make out the form right away, but whatever it was, it spoke directly at her…

_"Nymphadora!__ Are you and Teddy safe? Please reply back via __Patronus__ so I can come find you…"_

Tonks almost laughed. Making a Patronus right now would be damn near impossible…

Who's Patrnous, which it obvious was, was it? Tonks squinted, and thought for a moment it looked like her own she-wolf for a moment…but suddenly, Tonks realize it was her mother's voice, which meant that white blob was her mother's cow! The tribe was in a panic. Women tried throwing water on the Patronus, but it would not fade. Tonks knew it wouldn't last very long, so she decided to work quickly while the tribe was still confused and frightened witless.

Wiggling her hands until she reached her wand, Tonks quickly uncut herself from the ropes. She shot up and quickly found the tent where Teddy was kept. He was in a sandy hole in the ground that functioned as a bed or crib of sorts. He was all bundled up in brightly-colored sheets, but he didn't look the least bit tired, and fussed even as Tonks made her way over to him.

Tonks grabbed him, but just as she exited the tent with her son clutched tightly in her arm, she was caught by the chief of the tribe, ready to re-capture. Tonks quickly got an image in her head…she tried for the oasis, but the very first place that came into her head was more desert. But she didn't have time for a second thought. Concentrating very hard, Tonks Disapparated herself and Teddy from the camp before the chief could touch her…

…not a second later, she fell to the sand with a THUD. Luckily, she fell on her back so Teddy wasn't harmed. She quickly stood up and got her wand out. Looking around her, there was no camp, there was no oasis. There was nothing.

Tonks had a fearful thought. She had just seen desert, but not a specific kind of desert. For all she knew she could have been in Africa, or Mexico, or the Australia Outback, or any other desert on earth BUT the one she needed to be in!

Tonks felt faint with the thought. Maybe she could try a Patronus…

Raising her wand, Tonks tried desperately to think of a happy thought, and she managed to mutter weakly, _"__Expecto__Patronum__…"_but only a small wisp of white came out of her wand before everything fell black around her again.

Tonks could Apparate back to Istanbul or Grimmauld Place, but her mind was too clouded, too full, too afraid, too exhausted to exhort that kind of energy again. She was too weak to move. All she could do was shoot two brief rounds of red distress sparks high into the air before she collapsed to the sand, Teddy still tucked in her arm.


	17. Sahar and the Wizard Tribe

_He was in her arms again. They day was warm and bright. Remus lied beside her on the blanket they'd brought to the beach that morning. The sun was warm, but not too hot. Tonks' hair was the brightest shade of pink she could make. Remus' most recent scar lined the side of his arm, and Tonks caressed it gently with her index and middle fingers. Teddy could be heard giggling down by the water as he stomped in the very edge of the shore. Andromeda was busy chasing after her grandson, and Ted was right behind her, trying to chase after her in return. It was the height of summer. _

_Teddy suddenly laughed. "Uh oh!" Andromeda shrieked in laugher as Teddy took off his swimming trunks and threw them in the water, not caring that his small, round behind was in plain view of everyone. Remus shot up and laughed a real belly laugh, a sound that warmed Tonks' ears. Remus got up and decided to join the chase. Tonks stayed put, and after a moment, her pooped-out father joined her at the blanket. _

_Tonks suddenly noticed a small hermit crab running across the sand. For no apparent reason, she watched the patterns it made in the sand with its feet as it wandered, walking sideways. _

_Teddy's scream was what brought Tonks' gaze away from the hermit crab to the shoreline. Teddy was suddenly absent. Remus and Andromeda were looking into the sea, scared. Where'd Teddy go?_

_Before Tonks could even stand up straight, Remus dove in after his son and disappeared beneath the waves. Ted dived in then, after Remus. Andromeda shrieked, and Tonks was speechless. __She dove towards the water without another thought, but Andromeda suddenly yanked her back and hurled her back up onto the safety of the dunes. _

_Tonks whipped her head around, but suddenly, Andromeda disappeared into thin air. Remus, ted, and Teddy never resurfaced. The beach was deserted. She was alone. _

* * *

The first time Tonks opened her eyes, it was only for a brief moment. She saw nothing but a haze and swirl of pre-dawn colors above her head before falling unconscious again.

The next time Tonks opened her eyes, she was initially blinded by sunlight beaming down on her. Soft voices from all around muttered in some foreign tongue. She couldn't establish where she was, only that she was in a hot place, lying on warm sand. The world was a huge, blue and yellow blur. Teddy was lying across her chest, his hair a light orange, not as vivid as he usually made it, but more of as creamsicle color. Teddy was fully awake, however.

As more and more of the world came into focus, Tonks could see figures standing around her. Her heart suddenly raced. Damnit! They'd found her! Could she Disapparate? No, her mind wasn't as clear and focused as it should've been. She wanted to scream, but she found her throat too dry to utter so much as a whimper. Her head throbbed. She couldn't get up and run if she wanted to.

But the faces became more defined after another moment. These people were darker than her previous captors by far. They also didn't look as malicious and cruel as the other tribe. These people just looked…curious, to be around her. Was her hair pink again or something? How could it have been? She wasn't the least bit happy. Tonks found a lock of her long hair and hung it in front of her face. It was dark, sea green for some odd reason.

One of the strangers standing around Tonks stepped forward cautiously and spoke in the same foreign language (again, probably Arabic or some derivative). Teddy looked innocently up at the young man who'd volunteered to move in closer. He smiled at the baby, and Teddy smiled back his hair becoming that more vivid shade of orange. The man smiled. Tonks held her breath. Teddy would give them away!

The young man called to a woman who looked a few years older than him, wearing a sari-like dress made of maroon silk and gold trim. Her eyes were small, and her lips were huge, but her face was altogether benign-looking. She reached into a bag at her hip and pulled out…wait…was that a wand? Muttering something, Tonks felt herself being lifted to her feet. But she was extremely dizzy. The woman muttered another incantation, and Tonks' lightheadedness suddenly ceased. Finally seeing clearly again, these people all had wands out, pointed at Tonks and Teddy in case she wasn't to be trusted. Still a little confused, Tonks took her wand out of her pocket and put it on the ground as a gesture of surrender.

After a full second of silence, everything happened at once. Teddy laughed as every woman of this tribe suddenly swarmed around Tonks, examining her for injuries, and Teddy as well. The girl in the red sari then took Tonks by the arm, and Disapparated from the site where Tonks had passed out.

Tonks, Teddy, and the girl in red silk, followed by everyone else, arrived at a much larger, much more established campsite than the one where Tonks had been held captive. The portable dwellings looked more sturdy, and there was one defined fire pit, where a midday fire was roasting several pieces of meat on a spit. There were definitely more people in this tribe as well, and Tonks realized that there were twice as many here waiting for the return of the rest of their tribe, than those who'd actually brought her and Teddy back.

The girl in red silk disappeared a moment, and then re-appeared, took Tonks by the arm again, and guided her to the largest tent. Tonks decided if she'd been re-captured by a different tribe, at least she could stay with her son this time.

But once inside, Tonks was asked to sit on a small futon on the ground, and a folded bundle of purple silk not unlike the cloth the girl wore, sat on the edge. The girl pointed to the bundle of clothes and then pointed to her robes…which were, of course, scummy and sand-encrusted. The girl left the tent as Tonks willingly changed. Tonks realized that there was clothing for both herself and Teddy in the little bundle. Such beautiful articles too! Teddy was dressed in a green tunic, and Tonks' purple robes were very loose pants and a longer tunic that reached to her knees. The cloth was soft, cool and loose against her skin, and it felt great.

After she changed, Tonks and Teddy left the tent and looked around the small nomadic village she'd been brought too. She saw several older women with long veils covering their heads from the sun, using wands to draw shapes that illustrated scenes as little children looked on in amazement. Men were levitating game over the fire to cook it. Two young boys were washing the wings of a smaller, brown-feathered hippogriff. Tonks realized that this was a wizarding tribe. Sighing in relief Tonks knew this was why she was better accepted this time.

Catching sight of the girl in red, Tonks caught her attention and waved her over. Now, how could she communicate with her? Would she recognize city names? Were they close to Aktas?

Tonks placed her palm to her chest. "Tonks."

After a second, the girl repeated Tonks' action, this time, saying, "Sahar."

"Aktas?" Tonks asked pointing into the distance, exaggerating a shrug. Sahar shook her head after a moment of thought. "No Aktas?" Tonks asked again. Sahar looked confused. Tonks sulked. Still no lead.

"No Aktas, Tonks," said Sahar, looking genuinely sad for not being able to help.

Tonks nodded in thanks and quickly walked away. Maybe her mind was clear enough to produce a Patronus?

Taking a seat near the fire pit and setting Teddy on the ground beside her, Tonks took out her wand and shut her eyes, trying to envision her happiest memory to date…

Visions of Hogwarts, Teddy, and Remus began flooding her mind, and Tonks felt she'd found her memory…the birth of her son, of course. But before she could wave her wand, a quick vision of Remus lying dead in the Great Hall, and of Molly and Ginny Weasley's faces when Tonks asked for Remus interrupted her happy thought…

_"Expect Patronum!"_Tonks yelled. Several of the nomads looked up, surprised. A small spurt of white appeared, but faded before anything could be made out of it. Tonks almost threw her wand into the fire in a rage. But she regained her sense and tried again, and again…

It was nearly completely dark before Tonks was exhausted from trying. Teddy napped at her feet innocently, and Tonks had barely managed to get her Shield Patronus back. Not so much as a paw of her she-wolf had popped out of her wand.

Sahar suddenly took a seat beside Tonks in the ring around the fire pit, and most of the tribe sat around the fire pit as well. A bowl was being passed around, everyone taking something out of it. When it got to Tonks she saw there were bits of the roasted game she'd seen being cooked earlier. Tonks didn't realize until then how hungry she was. She grabbed a piece of meat and quickly took a large bite. Sahar appeared to grinned with delight over how much Tonks enjoyed her meal.

Sahar then took out her wand and looked at Tonks. "Patronus?" she asked, pointing at Tonks. Tonks nodded eagerly. The girl waved her wand and shouted the incantation, _"Expecto Patronum!"_ (Were the incantations the same in every language?) Suddenly, a large silver parrot emerged from the wand and flew around the fire pit. Several children gasped with delight before the bird faded out.

Tonks suddenly got an idea. "Patronus to Aktas," she said, while making the gesture with her hand of a mouth talking. Sahar suddenly looked like she'd just understood everything there was to know. She nodded. Waving her wand, she said the incantation again. As the parrot was forming, she started peaking in her language. Tonks sulked again. This wasn't going to work if her mother couldn't understand Arabic (which she most definitely couldn't!). The one word Tonks could register was her own name 'Tonks' somewhere in the mess of words.

Just as the parrot was complete, Tonks put a hand on the handle of Sahar's wand and said very distinctly, "Andromeda Tonks!"

Sahar nodded and released the parrot into the air. Tonks watched without much hope as it flew off into the night. It wasn't going to work. Tonks knew it.

Her stomach suddenly growled. In the meantime, she wondered if there was any meat left…

* * *

Meanwhile, in Aktas, Andromeda had been so convinced she'd lost her daughter and grandson to the desert, than she spent the entire day in sort of a trace-like state in the lobby of the inn where she and Charlie stayed. Charlie had briefly Apparated back to England to ask Kingsley Shacklebolt to send a watch to the desert to look out for her. Kingsley had told Charlie that there was a wizard-only tribe that had been given her description the previous night and asked to go out looking for her. Charlie's news didn't give Andromeda much hope.

That evening, Andromeda refused to eat dinner. She'd lost her husband, her son-in-law, her daughter, and her grandson in two months' time. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to go forward herself now.

Charlie kneeled by Andromeda's chair just as it was getting dark outside. "Mrs. Tonks, would you like some fruit? You need to eat something."

"My daughter and grandson have been eaten by savages," Andromeda muttered. "You expect me to eat anything, you stupid boy?"

Charlie motioned to Nabihah, who was standing in the corridor, carrying a fruit tray. She came forward and held out the tray. "Ma'am, there is good fruits fresh in season now," she offered.

Andromeda rudely pushed the tray away. "No thank you."

A little House Elf came running into the lobby from outside, where he'd been watering some plants. Nabihah looked down at the little elf. "Pampi?"

The little elf named 'Pampi' spoke in Arabic, then pointed at the glow of white filling the window.

"Pampi said a patronus has come with a message! A parrot!" exclaimed Nabihah. "No one I know has a parrot!"

The parrot flew in the window and began speaking directly at Andromeda in Arabic. Nabihah listened closely to the bird's words before is dissipated into thin air. Andromeda looked at Nabihah frantically. Could it be?

"No," Andromeda said suddenly. "Nymphadora' s took the form of a wolf because of Remus," she sighed woefully. "Damn!"

"No, wait!" Nabihah said, translating in her head what the parrot had said. "It said, 'Come to camp, just west of Tigris River. Tonks waits for you with baby."

Andromeda gasped and shrieked with joy. "Are you certain that's what it said?"

Nabihah nodded. "Shall I make Pampi get your broomstick?"

"I didn't bring it, but Charlie, get Mashka ready!" Andromeda said, thrilled, excited, and relieved all at the same time. "Stay here while I go fetch Tonks! She's alive, Charlie! Can you believe it? She's alive!"

* * *

_**A/N: **Something worthy of note: I didn't just pull those Arabic names out of my butt. I researched, and 'Nabihah' means 'smart' and 'scholar' (so named because she knows two languages and translates them for Charlie and Andromeda) and Sahar means 'magical.' Betcha can guess why she's named that! _


	18. Red Sparks, Blue Sparks

A whole day went by. Tonks grew more and more comfortable with this wizarding tribe. She could use her magic here, and she didn't have to worry about Teddy morphing on accident in front of these people. She secretly prayed that Andromeda found Sahar's patronus and was following it to her. Then again, she didn't know what Sahar had said, what if she said "We're going to eat Tonks, so don't bother crying for her?"

But Tonks highly doubted that. Sahar, though probably not much older than Tonks, had been very motherly ad kind towards the visitors.

In order to keep good terms with her captors until Andromeda could come for her (hopefully), Tonks offered to do chores along with the other tribal women. She decided it was safe to allow Teddy to be taken care of by three teenage girls who seemed delighted by his metamorphmagus abilities. As they played with Teddy, who seemed more than happy, Tonks redressed herself in the purple sari-like robes Sahar had given her, and took up the task the women seemed to be working on for the day. They were hovering giant pottery pails to the nearby river and filling them, then bringing them back. Other women were magically doing their laundry.

Tonks wandered down to the river and waded in the water. Sahar was a little further downstream, filling a pot. She looked at Sahar and, she pointed at a certain kind of reed that grew along the bank. Tonks took this as a sign to pick these reeds. She did so, and Sahar nodded approvingly. Tonks decided that this was her task if she wanted to stay in with this tribe and not get discovered by the other, much more malignant tribe. She took out her wand and began waving at the reeds along the bank, using a weeding spell she'd seen her mother use on the weeds in her garden outside her old cottage.

It was boring work, but if it kept her and her son safe, then so be it.

Though she had to admit, the cool water of the river felt wonderful on her hard, dry, hot feet. The water was so clear, she could see the little minnows swimming at her feet. The water barely rippled today. It was quite a tranquil day.

Tonks sighed after a while and put down her wand and looked at the pile of reeds piled up along the riverbank. She stared at her reflection in the water. The bags under her eyes had gotten bigger. Her purple dress complemented her hair (which, unbeknownst to Tonks, was an orange-red again). Her skin was pasty and lacked much color. Remus would be heartbroken to see her in such a downtrodden state.

Tonks double-blinked. As she thought about Remus, she could have sworn she saw him staring back up at her from the water instead of herself. But after she wiped her eyes, it was only her own body looking curiously back up at her.

Tonks spent a LOT of the afternoon wondering what would happen to her and Teddy if Andromeda never found them. She sighed and wondered if she could pick up the language these people spoke, and if she could teach it to Teddy. Maybe she could live peacefully among these nomads until the end. Never would she make it to the Borderland, never would she see her mother and friends again. But what choice could she have? Her mind was still too weak to do any safe Apparition. Perhaps if she became stronger after awhile, she could Apparate back to Grimmauld Place and call Andromeda home from there.

But she couldn't risk it for some time. Apparition was tricky enough to do with a full mind. It would be at LEAST a month before her mind would be up to an attempt. So, for now, she was stuck.

After a few hours getting reeds from the riverbank, Tonks wandered back up to the camp. She found the three teenage girls watching Teddy playing with what looked like a doll that walked on its' own and dances a sort of belly dance. Teddy giggled with delight. Tonks smiled at the girls and nodded silently in gratitude. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad staying with these people after all.

Tonks closed her eyes and muttered to herself. "Forgive me, Remus. But unless you can send a miracle, our journey ends here…"

* * *

That night, Tonks sat with Teddy on her lap around the council fire. The entire tribe gathered to dine together. A roasted….something…(Tonks was at a loss for what it was) was cooking on a spit over the fire, and wine jugs were being passes around as the members of this large family chatted happily amongst each other. Sahar sat with a good-looking dark-skinned man (her husband, maybe?), her head on his shoulder, on Tonks' right. Tonks bounced Teddy up and down on her knee to keep him happy. She, however, could not keep her eyes off the large orange flames, thinking how this was the way her whole journey was going to end. Her face was blank and soot-covered as the sky above her grew to indigo, then black.

The tribal chief got to his feet after a moment and held up his hands. The tribe was silenced. He gestured to Tonks and began speaking in Arabic. Tonks was confused. But the rest of the group seemed to be pleasantly interested in what the man had to say. A priestess (or elder woman, or some old woman) handed a golden headdress, lined with small golden coins and a waxing crescent moon. He held it towards Tonks. The rest of the tribe seemed elated and clapped wildly.

Sahar grinned and pushed Tonks to her feet, Teddy still in her grip. She walked cautiously over to the chief. The chief smiled. He then placed the headdress on her head so that the moon was out in front, and the coins rounded her head. The old priestess handed a smaller trinket, this one with a waning crescent moon, to the chief, who put it on Teddy's head. Tonks smiled. She didn't need to know Arabic to know that she and Teddy had just been formally welcomed into this large family.

The chief then yelled something, and a drum began to beat. Many of the villagers got off their feet and began to dance around. Tonks was tired, but Sahar seemed to insist that Tonks dance around the fire with the rest of them. She shrugged and decided to dance. Swinging Teddy around until he was almost sick, Tonks decided that if she couldn't beat them, she could at least join them!

The world become blurry as Tonks danced all her frustrations right out of her body. She felt lightheaded and free. Now, she was never quite sure, but she felt that somewhere in the twirling vortex of merriment she found herself in, she laughed. For the first time in the month since Remus' death, she laughed.

Amid the swirling and excitement of the dance, Tonks was barely able to notice a shoot of red sparks high in the air above them. The drumming stopped, and the dancing ceased. Tonks looked up.

Red sparks. As an Auror, Tonks knew what that meant. She gasped.

The chief got his own wand out and short up a few sparks. The sparks were repeated from the far away subject, this time spreading out to spell "Tonks and Teddy?"

Tonks and Teddy broke through the crowd. Sahar followed, pointing up at the sky and yelling. Tonks whipped out her wand with her free hand and shot it in the air with all her might. Blue sparks flew in the air. Blue sparks meant 'yes.'

More red sparks from the far away source. They didn't spell out words, but they were fired in quick succession. Tonks cried and laughed at the same time, rubbing her cheek against the crown of Teddy's head.

"It's Mum! Teddy, its Mum!" she cried. The rest of the tribe members muttered loudly amongst themselves. Tonks laughed and jumped up and down excitedly. Sahar's patronus had worked. Tonks shot more blue sparks in the air.

More red sparks, followed by more blue sparks. Tonks kept shooting up more and more signals as her excitement grew and as her heart beat faster and faster. Soon, she could see, silhouetted against the moon, a dragon with a woman riding on it's back, flying towards them at breakneck speed. Andromeda, from what Tonks could see, had her wand high in the air as she shot off more and more red.

Meanwhile, the tribe, seeing the dragon, had panicked, and had begun to form lines of both men and women, wands at the ready, about to shoot off curses in defense of their people.

Tonks bit her lip and ran in front of the first line, waving her hands.

"No! No! My mother!" Tonks screamed. The chief, who was heading the first line of defenders, looked confused, but nonetheless, brought his wand hand down to his side, then bidding the others to follow.

Mashka wailed as Andromeda landed her about one hundred feet from where Tonks stood. Andromeda cried out in utter ecstasy.

"NYMPHADORA!!! TEDDY!!" Andromeda hollered.

"Mum!" Tonks called back, running towards her mother with teddy in arm. The embrace was strong and secure. Tonks almost never wanted it to end. But she was the one who broke the hug apart, as she also needed to breathe.

"Some Arabic patronus found me, and I heard it say your name…"

Tonks grinned and nodded happily. "These people took care of me, Mum. That patronus was hers," she said, pointing at Sahar, who smiled meekly and stepped forward. The tribe was silent.

"Why weren't you at the oasis where I left you?" Andromeda asked.

"There was another group of people, a mean group, who kidnapped us. I escaped with Teddy, but fainted somewhere after Apparating as far away as possible. These people rescued me, fed me, and helped me out."

"This woman sent the patronus? They're a magical tribe?" Andromeda inquired, pointing at Sahar. She was silent.

Tonks spoke instead. "Sahar, yes. She sent the parrot to you to come find me. Mum, these people have treated me like one of their own. Before we go, may I please say goodbye?"

Andromeda nodded and observed Tonks for a moment. "Nymphadora, darling, you…you're smiling!"

Tonks had forgotten that she was in such a merry mood. She nodded and then turned her back to her mother to say goodbye.

She let the three teenage girls from before hold Teddy one last time. They fawned over him as if he belonged to them. Meanwhile, Tonks shook hands with the chief and took off her golden headdress, motioning for him to take it back.

The chief shook his head, took the headdress, and put it back on Tonks' head. The tribe nodded approvingly. Tonks actually felt a tear come to her eye as she turned from the smiling chief to Sahar, who looked just as sorry as he to see her go.

"Aktas?" Sahar asked Tonks nodded.

"Aktas," Tonks said solemnly. Sahar pouted sadly and took Tonks into her grip. Tonks was a little startled by this sudden show of affection, but it was not completely unwelcome.

Once Sahar let go, she took a large red ring off her finger and put it on Tonks' right ring finger. "Friend," she said in struggling English. Tonks beamed and accepted the gift.

"Yes, friend," Tonks agreed softly.

Once she once gained possession of Teddy (and it was rather hard, taking him away from the three crying teenage girls who loved him so), Tonks climbed onto Mashka. Andromeda then climbed up front to take them to the inn in Aktas where Charlie was waiting.

Mashka rose off the sand and began to fly northwest. The tribe then waved and called out in Arabic (Tonks could only assume they were saying goodbye). She waved back. The three sobbing teenage girls ran after the dragon for a good minute before Mashka flew too high and too fast for them to keep up. Tonks sighed and laid her chin affectionately on her mother's shoulder.

"Mum, may we rest for a day tomorrow before going on?" she asked. Andromeda sighed.

"Yes. Nymphadora, I think we ALL could use a full day's rest right now."


	19. A Shriek of Utter Ecstasy

After the full day of sleep and relaxation that Andromeda promised, she, Tonks, Teddy, and Charlie, after buying two thestrals from a farmer in Aktas and took off for their final leg of the journey to the Borderland.

They woke and took off very early the next morning on their thestrals and Mashka. Charlie held the still sleeping Teddy in his arms on Mashka. Tonks still led the way, and Andromeda still brought up the rear.

The day was full of confidence and courage. Tonks could feel the strength of the day brush against her cheek as she ascended higher and higher. The sun beamed brightly as it did before, but it wasn't nearly as stifling hot out (this was partially due to Andromeda insisting they fly at a higher altitude). Looking down at the earth below her, Tonks could see the end of the sands of the Middle East as they flew over the rocky, dry terrain of Pakistan. There were no nomadic tribes here, but small permanent villages set up instead. Tonks thought they were darling.

Meanwhile, Andromeda couldn't help but keep her breath shallow with anticipation as the terrain got more and more elevated below her. She hadn't told Tonks, because she wasn't one hundred percent sure yet, but if the weather remained this calm, this would be the day they would reach the Borderland. Tonight was the night that she and her daughter would reunite with their husbands, and Charlie would see his brother again. Teddy would see the father he was fated never to know. After an entire month, here it was. One more day, and all the trials they'd endured would pay off.

By noon, the weather showed no signs of rebelling as the rocky hills and craters gave way to snow-capped mountains beneath the two thestrals and the dragon. Tonks almost became sleepy watching the gorgeous scenery go by. She leaned her head on her hands, folding on her thestral's neck, and carelessly, lazily flew. Andromeda had to yell had her several times.

"Nymphadora! Be careful!! We wouldn't want another disaster!!" Andromeda warned.

Tonks smirked and mocked nodding. Andromeda sighed and took another quick look down. A thestral's cry snapped her attention above her. Tonks was flying higher with her thestral, even doing a few somersaults in midair. Tonks screeched with delight. Charlie whooped, and Teddy giggled at the silly sight.

Andromeda wondered why Tonks was so happy now. But she didn't see why it wasn't obvious. She somehow sensed this was the night she would reunite with her love. She'd come to the end of an emotion-jerking, exhausting journey, and life just seemed to be looking up. Andromeda had to admit she felt like doing the same as Tonks, if she wasn't thirty-plus years older and wiser!

The rush that Tonks got made her feel so free and easy. The air blew colder, and she sensed they were close.

The mountains were getting higher and higher, and Andromeda instructed Charlie and Tonks to fly lower so that the air wouldn't get too thin for the thestrals. They grazed the mountain tops and had to watch where they flew now. Andromeda yelled to Charlie to wrap the blanket bundle tighter around Teddy so he wouldn't get sick again. After all, it was a little less than two weeks ago that he'd had whooping cough after nearly dying in that storm above Charlie's dragon farm. Charlie obeyed. Looking up, he could see Tonks' clear change in perspective. She wasn't nearly as gloomy, nor depressed-looking. Charlie smiled feebly.

She was going to see HIM again. The man who was slightly less than twice her age, whom she went and fell for. The man who made it impossible for him to be with her. Charlie couldn't help but feel a bout of bitterness. Charlie had met Remus briefly in his life, but he didn't want to meet him again. He knew what Tonks would do. She'd be all ecstatic and thank the gods for Remus, and then they would fawn over their creation, whom he himself now held.

Charlie couldn't help being so selfish. Tonks wasn't what mattered now. At least, she shouldn't have been. Charlie had a long list of things to talk of with his brother. No use mourning over a love that could never be in the end.

A little more time passed, and the mountains became even taller. Tonks noticed a strange silhouette in the distance. She realized what it had to be, and uttered a loud, shrill cry of absolute joy. Andromeda was caught off guard and nearly fell off her thestral.

"What is it??"

"Over there!" Tonks pointed due east. Andromeda squinted to see two large mountains rising above the rest. "The two tallest mountains on Earth!! We're there! Oh, Mum! We're there!"

* * *

The air was as crisp and as cold as a winter in Hogsmeade when the travelers landed their animals and got off. Although the valley between the two tallest mountains was covered in snow that was as deep as Tonks' knees, the river, indeed, ran free, without so much as a chunk of ice floating in it. Tonks expected the place to be rather windy, but it wasn't. The sky was light purple and rose colored with the last of the sun's beams reflecting of the nearly overcast sky, for it was still an hour until moon rise.

"Brr! Chilly, isn't it?" Andromeda noted quite obviously, conjuring three woolen blankets. She gave one each to Tonks, Charlie, and Teddy, and she herself pulled out her thick black hooded traveling cloak and put the hood up.

After that, none of them spoke for a solid ten minutes. They simply stared at the small, shallow river that was the Borderland. It was almost surreal, as if they were all dreaming it. They'd made it. Once the moon rose—

—suddenly, a terrible thought hit Tonks.

"Mum! Tonight's not the new moon!" Tonks said, panicking.

Andromeda nodded. Tonks stopped panting nervously. "Shush, Nymphadora! Tonight's not the new moon, but look at the sky!" she said, pointing up.

Tonks squinted to look up above the enormous masses that towered above her. From what she could see, the clouds completely covered them.

"But Sirius said…"

"…Sirius said when there were no moon beams out, the dead can be seen. He didn't necessarily mean a new moon had to be out."

Tonks looked at her mother admiringly. How could she be so…so SMART? Andromeda sighed deeply and observed the surrounding area.

"Well, it's bloody cold, and we have a little while, so why not settle down for a bit?" she suggested, waving her wand in a circular pattern. A thin, orange dome fell over the four people, the two thestrals, ands Mashka, who was carelessly licking her hind parts like a cat. Tonks suddenly felt a warming sensation overcome her, and she shed the cloak Andromeda had just given her. The snow they stood in melted and gave way to dry, lush green grass, perfect for sitting and/or lying down in.

"Charlie, may I have Teddy?" Tonks asked, holding out her arms. Charlie nodded and handed over the baby to his mother, who found a soft patch of grass and decided to catch forty winks before nightfall. Charlie took a look at Tonks and Teddy, frowned, and turned to go give Mashka a post-flight check up to occupy his time.

Andromeda found a dry rock and sat on it, perched on the edge like an eager pigeon, looking intensively at the river, praying for nightfall. She had a feeling that the night wouldn't come very quickly...

* * *

…and, of course, it didn't. Night was a long time in coming. The moon was at a waxing gibbous stage when it first peered over the horizon. Andromeda only hoped the clouds would roll back in soon.

Tonks and Teddy were still sleeping. Tonks was curled up in a fetal position, holding Teddy in her grip like a child might hold a Teddy bear. Charlie, after examining Mashka and finding her to be perfectly fit, had fallen asleep beside the dragon. The two thestrals grazed happily on the rare patch of grass in this snow-laden area. Andromeda couldn't sleep.

Looking around, Andromeda sighed. Was coming here really a good idea? Looking at exactly how much near-tragedy had happened to her and her family, Andromeda still couldn't quite get a grasp on the fact that this was the place Sirius had told her about. This was the place where the dead could meet with the living. Somewhere behind that very river, Ted Tonks waited for her. Could he see her now? Or did the whole moon-beam rule work both ways?

Bundling her black cloak around her again, Andromeda stepped outside the barrier of the Warming Charm and went for a stroll along the riverbank. So lost in thought she was, that she failed to notice the moon fall behind a thick cloud. On the other side of the bank, two people appeared as if from thin air.

A man, tall and carelessly handsome, was strolling alongside the opposite bank, with the other person, a woman with curly, waist-length hair the color of a pine shrub, on his arm. The man looked up and noticed Andromeda. Andromeda still failed to notice him.

"DROMEDA!!!" the man hollered from a cross the bank. "ANDROMEDA!!!"

Andromeda looked up and around. It took a few moments for her eyes to wander across the river, to where both Sirius Black and Bastet Pollux stood, waving madly. Andromeda felt tears well up in her eyes as she let out a shriek of utter ecstasy. Sirius and Bastet jumped into the river, the water coming up to their knees. Andromeda followed suit and fell into the water and ran to embrace her beloved cousin. She didn't expect to actually find him solid. She'd anticipated him a ghost of sorts.

But Sirius was, indeed, solid. And in her arms. After so long

"Oh, my cousin! Oh! Oh!" Andromeda muttered hysterically. "It's you! It is really YOU, Sirius!"

"You made it! A bit longer than I expected, but no matter!" Sirius said.

Andromeda turned to Bastet. "It's been even longer," she muttered. "I haven't seen you since the last time Sirius brought your around, at LEAST eighteen or twenty years ago!"

Bastet took her hand and smiled her crooked smile. Bastet's hand was much smaller than Andromeda's. "Let's not talk about that now. There is so much more catching up to do."

"How are you two? What happened when you came here, Sirius?" Andromeda asked. Sirius could've sworn her voice sounded like it'd shed ten years of age in the last two minutes. It was melodic, young, and chipper again.

Sirius put an arm around his love and sighed happily. "It was a happy reunion. We're together now, and we've never been happier."

Bastet rolled her eyes. "I was a little dismayed to see him arrive here so soon, considering he was still too young, and of all people, your insane sister does him in…"

"Dismayed?! You lie, Bastet, my baby! You jumped my bones when I wasn't even thirty seconds behind the veil!" Sirius laughed. Andromeda grinned. Even when he was dead, Sirius was more alive than she could've ever hoped to be.

Bastet blushed. "Well, it HAD been fourteen years…I missed you."

Andromeda sighed. "I…I can't believe it. We came all this way, endured so much, and it's…we're…WITH you again!" Andromeda began sobbing. Sirius put his free hand on her shoulder.

"You can tell us all the details of your trip later," Bastet assured. "The night is still young."

"There was so much worry, so many near-death incidences! Now I'm HERE with YOU!" Andromeda was truly beside herself with happiness, exhaustion, and even more happiness.

"So happy after seeing only us," Sirius tsked. Bastet grinned.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Bastet said. Sirius nodded and turned to Andromeda.

"Wipe your tears, Dromeda and go get Tonks and Teddy," Sirius advised. Andromeda nodded. "I think a big family reunion is in order here…"


	20. The Bravest Person in the World

Andromeda wasted absolutely no time in awakening everybody and bringing them back into the cold and down to the river bank. Tonks was still a little drowsy, so she handed off Teddy to her mother. But despite her weary disposition at the moment, Tonks' heart could not have been beating faster. This was it. The moment that she'd risked arrest, life, and limb for.

The three of them split up so they could look around for any signs of movement from the opposite bank. How far did Sirius and Bastet have to travel with the news that they had visitors?

Suddenly, emerging from the shadowy opposite bank, came Sirius and Bastet, who were still grinning like dopes. Right behind them came a redheaded boy who looked distinctively familiar to Tonks. He took one look at his brother standing there and gave a whoop of sudden enthusiasm. Fred Weasley.

The look on Charlie's face was indescribable as he splashed into the water despite its' freezing temperature, to greet his little brother. The pair began punching each others' shoulders and talking a mile a minute at the same time. The sight made Tonks smile.

Tonks sighed quietly to herself and looked up again as more of the dead emerged from the shadows. She looked at her mother's face, which was surprisingly set stiff. But after a moment, Tonks observed her mother;s face morph in to one of shock, tears, and joy at the same time. Her gaze shooting across the river. Tonks bit her lip as she saw Andromeda (with Teddy in hand) step into the river to greet her husband, Tonks' father. Tonks stayed up on the shore, even though her father was standing there (he was too busy kissing Andromeda anyways). She had someone else to wait for.

After what seemed like ages of watching Fred and Charlie gab, and her mother and father snogging, Tonks felt her heart skip about ten beats as she caught sight of a young figure moving towards the river. He looked younger, and happier (and handsomer…where was this man a year ago?). His hair was still long, but not at all grey-streaked, and it gave him an air of coolness. His face didn't have a single scar, and his posture gave off the feeling that he'd lost ten years off his life and was grateful for them to be gone.

Tonks beamed wider than she had since Teddy's birth months ago.

"Remus? REMUS!" she shrieked with delight. Remus smiled handsomely, showing off every one of his teeth, and stepped into the river, his arms open. Tonks fell over her own two feet as she waded into the water (the freezing cold didn't matter in the least. She bolted into Remus' waiting arms. Remus picked her up and spun her around, making water splash everywhere. But Tonks didn't care. She was back where she belonged, in Remus' arms. Tonks felt like crying.

No, she already was crying.

* * *

Charlie and Fred didn't find it very convenient to catch up with all the snogging and crying going on between the Tonks-Lupin families, so they got out of the river (on Charlie's side) and decided to stroll down river to where it was a little quieter.

Charlie, much to his surprise, didn't find talking to his dead little brother awkward at all. Fred was as much alive as he'd ever been…only he wasn't.

"So, Fred, what's it like? Being here? You don't stay here all the time, do you?" asked Charlie.

Fred shook his head and grinned as he always did. "No. There's a place where only the dead can find. It's like a village of our own, only there's no eating, because we don't need it, no money, and everyone's just…happy! Lots of parting and dancing, lots of games and recollections of good times, all that sentimental stuff…"

"No eating?! Don't you miss eating?" Charlie asked with disbelief.

"Not at all," answered Fred. "Not so much the EATING part as the TASTE of food. I miss Mum's pot roast so much sometimes. But what's the point? If you're not in need of food, then why bother trying to seek it out?"

"Are you confined to that one little village you talked about?" asked Charlie.

"Not at all, but we don't travel by land. The dead can't Apparate anywhere. You even wonder why some people see their dead loved ones in their reflections, or see them through a crowd or rounding a corner at the last minute?"

Charlie knew exactly what Fred meant, and he nodded silently.

"We travel through the minds of our surviving loved ones," Fred answered. "It's VERY confusing, so I don't think it's worth the time bothering to explain the whole process. It's just to make sure they're pulling through and all…but it DOES call for some excellent mischief once in awhile!" Fred winked. Charlie laughed heartily…it felt odd to do so.

"There's the brother I know!" Charlie said. Fred nodded. The wide smile dissolved as it was Fred's turn to ask a question.

"So…how are they doing without me?" Fred asked.

Charlie didn't know how to answer that. After all, he'd only seen his family briefly after the final battle before returning to Romania, which is where he met up with Andromeda, Tonks, and Teddy.

"I…I haven't been able to talk much with them. I was rushed away from the school…after, you know? Ginny was rather distressed…she was almost killed by Bellatrix—"

"—ugh, that bitch makes being dead quite annoying!"

"You mean—?"

"Yes, the evil ones come here too," Fred said. "But they have these huge chains that weigh a ton that they have to lug around with them for eternity. Old Voldie's even got a neat little device, so that when he bends over, fire shoots clear up his bum. My idea, of course. Bella's got some big chains, and she pisses and moans all day about it like she's under one of her own damned curses. Another thing is, Moldy-Voldie has no voice here, and he's blind too. Bella's blind, but unfortunately, she kept her voice."

Charlie nodded and sighed. He spoke after almost a full minute of silence. "So…did it hurt, dying?"

Fred shook his head. "Last thing I remember is a huge bang and a few screams. No pain. I woke up and Sirius was standing over me, looking at me curiously. The he yelled right in my face, 'DAMNIT, BOY! YOU'RE NINETEEN!!"

Charlie smiled.

"What about Holey St. George?" asked Fred. "How is he coping?"

"He wouldn't celebrate our victory," Charlie said. "He wouldn't leave your body. Last I saw before I went back to Romania, he was still there."

"Um, Charlie, can you do me a favor?" asked Fred.

"Anything," Charlie agreed quickly.

"Go back to England and tell George that I said if he doesn't stop crying over me and get the business back on its feet, I'll kill him."

Charlie's heart jumped as he smiled. "I most certainly will, brother. I certainly will."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ted and Andromeda had given Teddy back to Tonks, and now they were watching from a decent distance as Remus and Tonks both fawned over their son with tear-laced eyes, red cheek, and happy smiles. Andromeda leaned her head on her husband's shoulder, and Ted had his arms around her waist.

"She's still so young, the War has aged her a lot," Ted noted. Andromeda looked at him strangely. "What, you didn't notice the bags under her eyes, the way her skin is all pale? How her hair is colored…well…normally? She's been through a lot."

"We all have," Andromeda agreed. "It's worth it to be here."

"You need to make sure she becomes happy again someday, 'Dromeda," said Ted. "I want her to marry again and have more children."

"I already talked with her about this a few times, Ted," Andromeda sighed woefully, watching as Remus planted a kiss on his son's forehead while Teddy, in response, wrapped his tiny fist around Remus' index finger. "She won't budge. She insists she'll never marry again."

"Well, you can't expect her to agree so soon, darling!"

Andromeda turned her head. "Huh?"

"It's only been a month, after all. It will more than likely take years before Dora is ready again to fall in love. She will, though, in her own good time," Ted said, nodding.

"How can you be so sure?" Andromeda asked.

Ted winked at her. "Because she's your daughter!"

Andromeda gasped mockingly. "What?!" she asked playfully.

"Don't you remember when I proposed to you? We were eighteen, fresh out of Hogwarts! You didn't say 'yes' until we were twenty-two!"

"I…I don't recall," Andromeda lied.

"Don't give me that, 'Dromeda!" Ted said. Andromeda rolled her eyes and sighed in defeat.

"We were only eighteen! Besides, how was I supposed to know you were the one after all?" Andromeda said.

Ted was silent a moment and watched his daughter and her family.

"You remember how we met?" Ted asked.

"How could I forget, as much as I wanted to?" Andromeda replied. "Our fifth year, we were both named prefects from our specific houses. You tripped over me in the prefect's car!"

"At least we know that's where Dora got hers from," Ted muttered.

"At least she inherited your house over mine! IK cannot picture that girl in Slytherin! I can't even picture myself in Slytherin anymore! How I got through it, I'll never know," Andromeda said, shaking her head. Ted smiled.

"I know."

Andromeda grinned. "Oh, DO you, now? Well, enlighten me!" she said jokingly. Ted's face, however, was serious.

"Because you're strong."

Andromeda was completely cut o0ff guard by this statement. "Excuse me, Ted?"

"You are," Ted said. "'Dromeda, darling how can you NOT know your own strength? I personally see you to this day as the bravest person in the world!"

"What exactly did I do to make you say that?" Andromeda asked. "I'm no Harry Potter or Albus Dumbledore!"

"You broke away from your family to follow your heart. You were widowed so suddenly, yet you still cried tears of joy at Teddy's birth. You stayed at home to protect your grandson while your son-in-law and daughter were off risking their necks. You then found the energy after ALL of that, to venture thousands f miles from home at a time when you didn't need the extra stress, to fulfill your daughter's wish to see the one she loves again. Andromeda, you deserve an Order of Merlin!" Ted said. Andromeda stared at him blankly for a moment.

"How am I going to live without you?!" she suddenly wailed, fresh tears coming to her eyes as she buried her face in Ted's shoulder. Ted embraced her and sighed. "I know! Nymphadora and I will set up a permanent camp here—"

"—Darling, don't—"

"—so every night when it's cloudy, we can see you—"

Ted groaned. "Dromeda!"

"—and during the day, it will be as if you were away for work, as usual—"

Ted put a gentle finger over Andromeda's lip to silence her. Andromeda heaved a deep moan. Ted looked deeply into his wife's eyes. "You need to promise me something, right now."

"Anything, Ted."

Ted smiled. Andromeda remarked in her head that even when he was dead, Ted's smile warmed her to the very core.

"You need to promise that at daybreak, you will leave this place and never come back."

Andromeda gasped." What?! Ted, I absolutely cannot—"

"—stay here. Darling, I love you, AND Nymphadora, AND Teddy. But you're being just as stubborn as our girl is. You need to move on with your life. The world still needs you. Otherwise, you'd be here already."

"Ted, I can't leave you again," Andromeda sighed.

"You never will," Ted said, placing his hand on his wife's heart. Andromeda placed her hand over his. How could his hand possibly be as warm as it was? "I'm here, and so are Sirius and Remus, and all our friends."

"Dearest, do you really think I'm going to fall for that?" Andromeda asked, smiling weakly.

Ted nodded confidently. "Yes, I do. I most certainly do."

* * *

_**A/N: **__For those of you asking why there is no Tonks/Remus dialogue here, just wait, for I wanted each of the travelers to have their own moment. Andromeda and Charlie share this chapter, but Tonks and Remus are going to have their own! So be patient, review and the next chapter might be up sooner than you think! _


	21. The Anniversary Present

There really were no words for what Tonks felt in the English language. She was happy, but afraid. She was willing to cry and laugh at the same time. Her heart was pounding against her chest, yet perfectly still as well. She was hot, yet she was cold. The world was a blank. Her mother and father were gone. Charlie and Fred were gone, as were Sirius and Bastet. No one mattered except the man she loved, who she nearly lost forever.

But he was here. He was beside her, a solid human being, looking healthier and better than ever before. Remus Lupin, her husband, was here! He held Teddy in his arms, still awed by his son's existence. Teddy's hair was bright orange.

"He's a smart boy, he knows who his daddy is already," Tonks had remarked at the change of color.

So, as the night drew on, Remus, Tonks, and Teddy made their way upstream and settled on a large boulder that wasn't covered in snow to sit on and catch up with one another. The night was cold, but to Tonks, it could've been Absolute Zero out there and she still would've felt warm. She leaned her head on Remus' shoulder as he fingered Teddy's cheek.

"Can you see us from where you are?" Tonks asked dreamily.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't spy in on you, your mum, and Teddy. I think about you nonstop," Remus confessed. "And I must admit, I've cried a lot more than I've smiled after having a look see."

Tonks actually cringed. "So, you WERE there, then? The other day when I was with that magic tribe…in the river?"

Remus nodded. "I've been so many places, Tonks, you would never believe. How do you think you made it here?"

"What?" Tonks asked. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you think those French Aurors never caught up to you and Andromeda?"

Tonks blinked. "You did that?"

Remus nodded. "How do you think Charlie found you during that miserable storm where you and Teddy were about to fall to your deaths?"

Tonks was in awe.

"And I was there with you while you were a hostage of that Muggle tribe. I guided your mum's Patronus to you. Why do you think you saw a wolf at first? I was running alongside it for most of the time," Remus confessed.

"How did you do that?"

Remus shook his head. "That, you cannot know, because it is a Secret of The Dead," Remus replied. Tonks sighed.

"Remus, I am so sorry," Tonks cried. Remus used her free hand to run a soft, tender finger town Tonks' cheek as a tear fell. "I betrayed you, I failed you!"

"How so, Dora?" Remus asked, sounding more curious than angry.

"During the battle, where you died, you said that you trusted me with your life. And I failed you. Dolohov got me, and I was knocked out, and that was when he got you!" Tonks said. "If I'd been a better fighter, you'd be back in England with me now, in bed with me, or around the dinner table or whatever time it is now!"

"No, don't you dare think that way," Remus said sternly. Tonks quivered as he touched her face again. "Why aren't you grateful? That is all I ask now."

"Grateful? For your death?" Tonks asked, somewhat offended. Remus shook his head.

"Grateful that I died for you! Dora, without me intervening, he would have gotten you! You were a helpless body lying on the floor, I couldn't just watch him kill you in order to save myself! I wouldn't have been able to live with myself," Remus said, shuddering at the dark thought.

"Well, now I can't live with **MY**SELF! We were stuck!" Tonks said back, crying now.

"It was a terrible situation for us to be in," Remus agreed. "It was either you or me went. And Dora, you are still so young. You're only twenty-five!"

"And you were only thirty-eight! That's not old, either!" Tonks protested. "And don't you pull that 'more people would miss you' or 'you had more of a purpose anyway' bullshit! You always felt sorry for yourself! You had so much here, Remus."

Remus nodded solemnly. "You're right."

Remus and Tonks simultaneously looked down at their child, who was sucking away at his thumb. Remus gently pulled Teddy's hand away from his mouth and spoke tenderly to him. "No, no, young man. You'll develop dental problems later if you do that!"

Tonks let out an airy laugh. Remus looked up at her again.

"Take care of him for me, Dora," he said softly. "He is a fine looking boy. He'll need a lot of care growing up without a father." Tonks blinked back more tears.

"But he will have his father," Tonks said. Remus' look changed quickly to a look of moderate alarm.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I know where this place is now! I can easily memorize the territory and Apparate here with mum and Teddy a few times a year, and we can visit!" Tonks proposed. Remus shook his head.

"Dora, think long and hard before you answer me this, but do you really think that is a good idea?"

"Of course I do—"

"—coming here a few times a year to show Teddy the man he could've grown up knowing as his father? It will drive him mad, Dora. And it will drive you mad, too," Remus said. "It's not healthy."

"Well, what do you expect me to do, then? Sit around and cry for the rest of my life over what almost was?" Tonks asked. Remus shook his head.'

"Of course not," Remus said. "I want you to move on. I want you to get married again one day, darling. I want you to make more babies and to continue your work as an Auror. And I want you to see Teddy's own wedding day, I want you to see your grandchildren, and I don't want to see you here until you have died of old age, warm in your bed with your family beside you. Is that so much to ask?"

"YES!" Tonks said, somewhat loudly. "I refuse to marry again, for one, and if I barely survived the Battle of Hogwarts, then how do you expect me to be able to survive another good forty years of Auror work? It isn't like you'll be there to protect me again! Honestly, you might as well have asked me to rule the world!"

Remus chuckled to himself and rocked Teddy back and forth a few times before speaking again. "You are a lot stronger than you think you are. You made it through the journey here, didn't you?"

"You said that was because I had your help along the way!" Tonks said back.

"I kept the French Aurors off your tail as your flew away! I didn't give you the idea to break out of prison in the first place! That was you and your mother! As for the Patronus, I helped guide it to the camp you were held captive at. I didn't give you help when you Disapparated and escaped from there! And I may have helped Charlie Weasley rescue you from the storm, but you held on to Teddy, and that took more courage and strength than any normal person could've had."

Tonks stared blankly at Remus. "But I still won't marry again!"

Remus sighed. "Too bad, because Charlie Weasley is in love with you!"

Tonks shook her head. "That's too bad for him, because I don't love him back."

"I assure you, Dora, he will be a sturdier match for you—"

"—I don't care!" Tonks said angrily, getting up from their sitting place and beginning to pace up and down the rover bank. "Remus, we may not have even made it to our first anniversary, but that doesn't mean I have to get married again before it comes around!"

"It already has come around, Dora," said Remus with a smile. Tonks stopped dead in her tracks and stared at her husband.

"W….what day is it?" Tonks asked.

"It's past midnight. Today's date, I believe, is July 12th, 1998," Remus said. Tonks' eyes widened and filled with even more tears.

"Today is our one-year anniversary," she sobbed. Remus, for the first time, had tears come to his eyes as well. He stood up and went to hug Tonks. Teddy seemed pleased to be sandwiched in the middle, even as both of his parents sobbed somewhat uncontrollably.

"Happy anniversary, darling," Tonks muttered sadly.

Remus sighed. "Happy Anniversary, Dora," he replied. "I'm so sorry it had to be spent like this."

"At least we're with each other," said Tonks. "If it wasn't for my trip here, I would've spent it all alone, crying in my bedroom at my mum's house, or in front of the fireplace at Grimmauld Place with a half-empty bottle of Sirius' firewhiskey," Tonks said. "But I'm here with you, and that's all that matters," she said.

When they finally let go after what seemed like hours but was probably no more than two or three minutes, Remus smiled sadly at his wife. "You need to swear that no matter how much you grow to miss me, you will never come back here."

"Remus, I can't be so sure," Tonks said, shaking her head.

"I want you to be happy again," Remus said. "I will be able to rest knowing you are happy and enjoying life raising our son."

"It…it will be hard, on my own," Tonks said.

"You do have your mum to help," Remus said. "Besides, what's raising a child anyway? Dirty diapers, shoe shopping before the school term begins, dentist visits every six months, the occasional grounding, and Christmas at the Burrow every year listening to Molly moon over how much he's grown?"

Tonks giggled. "You make it sound so…easy. But you don't understand how hard it will be for me. Remus, he looks so much like you. It will be like watching you grow up," Tonks said. "It will hurt me every time I look into his eyes and see you looking back at me."

Remus looked at his feet. "I never thought of it that way, to be honest," he admitted.

"But, I really have no choice, do I?" Tonks said, smiling up at her husband. Remus smiled back at her.

"You swear you will never look back, only forward?" Remus said.

Tonks took a deep breath and nodded. Remus handed Teddy back to Tonks as she nodded. "I swear it," she promised. "Think of it as my anniversary present to you!"

"I'll never stop loving you, Dora," Remus said, leaning in to kiss Tonks. Tonks felt the kiss turn her body cold as Remus' kiss had never done before.

After a minute of kissing, Tonks pulled back.

She was alone.

Looking around in a panic, Tonks yelled out. "Remus? REMUS?" Her voice was breathy and panicked. Where had Remus gone?

She failed to notice that the sheet of cloud cover had just given way to a complete clear sky and a bright gibbous moon hovering above the river.

* * *

Remus stood there, complete aware of still standing right in front of Tonks. Tonks, however, could not see him anymore. Remus looked up at the moon, shining brightly above them. Tonks looked scared and alone suddenly. She cradled his son tightly in her arms as she backed away from him.

"Dora, I'm still here!" Remus said. But apparently, she was deaf to his voice as well. Looking up at the sky again, Remus saw no more clouds moving through, and none loomed to the west waiting to pass over. It was going to be a completely clear night.

Remus' shoulders fell, realizing that they had been torn apart again too soon. He felt his heart almost begin to beat again with pain and sadness as Tonks looked around for him. It was like watching her from underneath an Invisibility Cloak, or from behind a glass wall that he could see through, but she couldn't. Remus knew that this was the last time he would see her in this lifetime, and she would not see him again until her time came to die. Tonks looked afraid as she turned her back on Remus and walked away to find her mother and Charlie, who were surely just as puzzled and sad as she was. Remus smiled. All three of them had to go back to facing the rest of their lives.

But they were ready. Remus knew in his heart they were ready.


	22. Epilogue: Her Story Continues

_**May 2nd**__**, 2008**_

_**Ten Years After...**_

"Teddy, Merlin's sake, slow down! Grandmum won't be able to catch up!"

Tonks rolled her eyes, exasperated, following Teddy as he ran down the hall of Hogwarts towards the Great Hall. For a ten year old boy, Teddy was very light on his feet, Tonks could barely keep up, what with her clumsiness, her being thirty five…and her wooden leg on the left side, for which she needed a cane to walk with (she used Remus' old walking cane for this task, and it suited her well enough).

"But the Memorial feast smells good, even from here, Mummy!" whined Teddy. "We'll be late!"

Tonks called ahead to her son, deciding that trying to make her son slow down was a lost cause. "Just save a seat for your Grandmum, the Weasleys, and I!"

She didn't know if Teddy heard him, but she needed to wait for Andromeda. She leaned against a wall and rolled up her pant leg to see if her wooden leg was still safely fastened to her knee. She'd lost it three years ago, while chasing a particularly nasty stray Dark Wizard with Ron Weasley. And it was her last chase because of that injury. As secondary head of the Auror Department under Harry Potter now, Tonks didn't have to fly as much, but she still liked the odd on-scene assignment. The Wizarding world calm as it was, still had a little 'action' here and there. She often worked alongside Harry Potter as well. The Healers had looked at her leg and told her that they had no chance of saving it or re-attaching it, but Tonks didn't mind the fake leg, because Mad-Eye Moody had one too. It made her feel…important. Like a big battle-scar to show off to the world.

"Nymphadora, for Merlin's sake, does Teddy ever run out of energy?" asked a worn, torn, wispy voice. Tonks turned to see her mother limping on her own cane slowly down the corridor towards her, looking tired out.

"Mum, you've lived with him for ten years. What do you think?" Tonks said. "I can only imagine what he'll be like next fall when he comes here to school..."

Andromeda smiled her unique smile. Three teeth were missing, but she didn't care, nor bother to have them replaced. A fair bit older in appearance as well as age, Andromeda was rather well dressed and groomed. This was because her sister, Narcissa, the last full-blooded Black, had died a few years back of some disease, and despite Andromeda's disowning by her Aunt Walburga, the Hall of Blacks all agreed to leave the family fortune to her. This ensured that Andromeda was perfectly independent, with or without a husband. She moved out of her old cottage and into a new home in a nice apartment in Rowena's Way. She lived nicely there, and Teddy loved to spend time there with her.

"Who else is coming?" asked Andromeda.

Tonks shrugged. "Everyone, I guess."

"Where's Danny? Is he coming?" Andromeda wondered. Tonks shook her head at the mentioning of her fiancé.

"He's got a game in Italy tonight. Teddy and I are Apparating down to Verona to see him after the Memorial feast," Tonks said. Danny O'Shea, a Beater for the Ireland Quidditch team, was a decent fellow who made Tonks feel happy like Remus Lupin once had. Of course, no one would every replace Remus Lupin in her heart. But Tonks eventually realized that both he and Andromeda had been right all along. Opening her heart to love again made the pain seem to disappear. An August wedding was being planned, right before Teddy would leave for school for the first time.

"I see, well, we might as well hurry up and get into the Great Hall and see if Teddy saved us those seats!" Andromeda said. Tonks nodded at her mother, and they both did so.

The Great Hall was filled with war veterans and Hogwarts students who had relatives who were veterans (the school had closed for the day in order to have the Tenth Anniversary Memorial feast for those who had fought and died during both wars). Once inside, Andromeda and Tonks looked in the direction of the old Hufflepuff table, from which Teddy waved. Both women went to sit down in the two seats, one on either side of Teddy, that were reserved for them. Tonks was delighted to see Charlie was on her left with Kelly Morton, whom Charlie had taken for his wife a year or so after their long journey to the Himalayans. Charlie's daughter was sitting on the other side of her mother, and Kelly's stomach was big and round.

Tonks smiled. "Charlie, I haven't seen you in months! Not since you left to live in New York!"

Charlie nodded. "Yes, raising dragon awareness in the United States is a tough job. So many skeptical people nowadays, even wizards. Then Kelly got pregnant again, which made things MUCH more fun…"

"It's another girl," said Kelly proudly. "Little Bastet couldn't be happier that she's getting a sister, right?"

The little redheaded girl on Kelly's left scowled. "When's the pudding coming out?" she pouted. Tonks smirked at her goddaughter. She looked at Charlie. After their trip, Charlie had come out and confessed everything about his feelings to Tonks, but both of them decided that when it came down to it, they weren't really meant to be lovers. Just friends. So Charlie finally let go of his long-standing crush on Tonks and instead married Kelly, his longtime associate in the new branch of the Ministry, the Department of Dragon Awareness, Keeping, and Protecting. Not that Kelly was just an alternate to Tonks, Charlie came to realize that they were, indeed, more compatible and more attracted to each other in the long run. Sadly for Charlie, dragons had become somewhat of an endangered species, and he and Kelly shared the same goal: to protect and save these creatures. Luckily, Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt was convinced to open up the new branch for Charlie's cause.

The room was suddenly called to order by Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall. This would be the last Memorial feast she would be speaking at, as she was retiring after the final exams were done. "You attention, please? Before we begin our delicious Memorial feast, let us please have a moment of silence for those who fell ten years ago during the final Battle of Hogwarts…"

Tonks bowed her head and squinted her eyes tight, getting an image of Remus behind her eyelids. She wished she never made that promise to never journey to the Borderland again. She had so much she wanted to beg Remus' forgiveness for. Like for marrying again. For all those times she had nearly given up on raising Teddy herself because Remus wasn't beside her. Sometimes, she wanted to beg Remus to forgive her for not being happy. She was happy again, but there were the odd days when she wasn't happy, of course. Those early days after she returned home were terrible. Tonks had not only physical fatigue to recover from, but she was haunted with dreams for many nights that included Remus and how she would now never be able to see or hear his voice in person again. She wished she could die sometimes, but she never tried. It took her a long time to say a formal goodbye, but she managed to pass on into the next phase of her life.

Tonks and Andromeda together decided (along with the permission and advice of Sirius' portrait in the Hall of Blacks) to turn 12 Grimmauld Place into a memorial library (Remus would have liked that) and a Magical Historical Landmark in honor of those who died from both Wars at the hands of Death Eaters. Of course, the Hall of Blacks was off limits to visitors, and it remained there. Aunt Walburga's terrible portrait was finally taken down and stowed away there (much to the vexation of Sirius and a few of the other Blacks). The Phoenix Library each had a separate room and a separate memorial plaque or portrait for Remus, Sirius, along with James and Lily Potter, Fred Weasley, Colin Creevey, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Mad-Eye Moody, and several other important figures that lost their lives. For awhile, Tonks was tempted to visit the portrait of Remus hanging outside the Lupin Room (where rare books on magical beasts were kept), but she never went.

After a moment, Tonks raised her head as Minerva McGonagall waved her hands, and the feast appeared before them. Tonks, her belly empty and not wanting to be, dug in almost immediately, and ate until she nearly burst.

Tonks knew that the pain would never cease completely. It did wear down as time went on, but Tonks knew it would never go away completely. It wouldn't, not even after she married Danny O'Shea and possible had more children (Tonks was secretly hoping for a little daughter with Metamorphmagus abilities like herself), even after Teddy grew up, married, and gave her grandchildren. But maybe a little pain was good. Maybe keeping a little bit of the pain meant Tonks was never completely grown up. She didn't want to be grown up. She had the feeling that neither Remus nor Sirius would want her completely grown up either.

With this thought on her mind, Tonks smiled, widely satisfied, and decided to go for the second helping of chocolate torte after all.

* * *

_**A/N:** I know what you might be thinking, according to JK Rowling, Charlie never married or had kids and his whole life was about dragons. Well, she ALSO said that Tonks was killed off by Bellatrix, so screw her! Thanks to all those who were kind enough to review this! See ya next fic!_


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